New Hope University: Major in Murder (SYOC CLOSED)
by J Carp
Summary: New Hope University's School of Ultimates is a small-scale test case for an exciting, novel intervention against generational discord. Sixteen of the best and brightesBLOODBLOODBLOODBLOOD promising indicators of social normativity. Graduates report higher levels of XXNAWAYRUNAWAYNOW can heal our culture of polarization and MURDERMURDEthe future of education!
1. Prologue

The Major's office was large but stifling. The massive size of his desk was one reason, but more than that, the piles of paper strewn haphazardly across it made the whole room feel cluttered, and the incessant drone of the fluorescent lights made the air feel oppressive and suffocating. The Major was old-school: he knew how to use computers, but he insisted all the important documents be printed before he read them. He demonstrated outright contempt against people who could read long requests and receipts on a screen; they were 'ruining the fucking country" and "a bunch of brainless, spoiled babies."

His assistants sat uncomfortably on the other side of the desk as he shuffled the papers idly, sniffing with pique. The woman glanced at the man; they had been through this many times, but there was never a way to predict his mood.

"What the fuck is next?" The Major grumbled, picking up a large packet of paper that had been freshly brought to him that morning. He skimmed the first page. "Grant extension request, project DR33672-AA. 'Improving Society and Reducing Generational Conflict by Gamifying Educational Mystery: A Multi-Disciplinary Intervention.' From Dr. Eugene Alameda at New Hope University." He snorted and looked up at his assistants. "I can't tell any of this shit apart; what is this one?"

"It's the Killing Game, sir," the male assistant spoke up.

"Christ, are we still funding that?" The Major looked back down at the papers. "They want six more years."

"They've already been doing it annually for ten years," the woman said. "The results are detailed in Section Four..."

"Sum it up."

"Uh..." The woman was momentarily flustered but recoverd quickly. "Things have been going better than they'd expected. The program has produced a Nobel laureate, two MacArthur Grant recipients, and an Academy Award winner. Average income of graduates is well into seven figures."

"Hmmph. And that's enough for the United States military to fund this little experiment, huh?" The Major opened up the packet of paper and flipped through it perfunctorily. "'...works via two important mechanisms.' Christ, academics. 'By weeding out unsuccessful Ultimates, potentially unstable but talented students are kept from reaching positions of authority in industry or entertainment. Second, and more importantly, graduates emerge with renewed humility and loyalty toward society and humanity.'" He took a deep breath and sat back in his chair. "I need boots to wade through this bullshit. You kill off the bad ones and put the fear of God in the good ones, just say that."

The man leaned forward slightly. "There's a note at the back from the head of the project," he added nervously. "From Dr. Alameda, the head of the project. It doesn't use the same academic language. It's more, um, genuine. That was the most useful part, for me."

"Was it?" The Major tossed the wad of paper across his desk and raised an eyebrow. "Read it."

The male assistant nervously picked up the grant renewal request and flipped to the end. Haltingly, he began to read, "I wish to add a personal note expressing my sincere passion for this project and the good it can do for the world." As he spoke, he grew more confident, as if filled with surety from the writer himself. "In this country and in the whole world, we are at war. I mean this literally. We are at war with our own children. They threaten to destroy tradition and structure. They twist the familiar into the alien. Whether through moral outrage or through apathy, they willingly tear apart everything that makes us great. Through my time overseeing this project, I have seen the filth these younger generations can embody.

"I have also seen them shine bravely. I have seen them stand up to defend truth from lies. I have seen them fight and die to stave off anomie and despair.

"Gentlemen, the program works. New Hope University is an example of what the future of education must be. The truly exemplary learn, through hard work and sacrifice, to live their lives devoted to the structure of society.

"My father used to tell me that there are two kinds of people in the world: those who fear chaos and those who embrace it. Hew Hope University only produces graduates in one of those groups." The assistant looked up, nearly panting from his delivery.

The Major sat back in his chair and looked up at the ceiling, chewing the inside of his cheek. "They still use that fucking bear thing?" he asked.

"They say the bear is a central and necessary aspect."

"Jesus Christ." The Major sat back up and looked his assistants in the eye. He gestured to the man and grabbed the stack of paper from his nervous hand. "At least someone understands what this country is up against. Fine, request approved. Tell them we want a full report every twenty-four months." He tossed the stack of paper haphazardly into a nearby recycling bin. It landed with a thud, but one sheet came loose and rested on the floor, unnoticed.

"What's next?" The Major asked.

The woman sorted through papers and handed him one from a nearby stack. "New request for funds to train tigers to fight terrorism..."

As they continued the day's business, the lone sheet of paper lay sprawled on the floor, nearly glowing in the fluorescent light. This is what it said:

 **New Student Intake Form, New Hope University: School of Ultimates**

NAME:

AGE (most students are between 18 and 22):

GENDER:

ULTIMATE TALENT:

HOME TOWN (primary source of students is the United States, however recruitment is worldwide):

SEXUAL ORIENTATION:

HEIGHT/WEIGHT:

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION (skin tone, hairstyle, features, etc.):

PREFERRED CLOTHING STYLE:

OUTLINE OF PERSONALITY:

COMPETENCIES AND ABILITIES (what are you good at?):

WEAKNESSES (what are you bad at?):

BIGGEST FEAR:

TRAITS PEOPLE GENERALLY ENJOY OR LIKE:

TRAITS PEOPLE TEND TO DISLIKE:

BRIEF LIFE HISTORY:

MOST IMPORTANT LIFE EVENT:

ATTITUDE TOWARD HUMANITY (are you a misanthrope? an optimist? why?):

ATTITUDE TOWARD AUTHORITY (do you tend to rebel or conform?):

PRIMARY INTERESTS IN UNIVERSITY (what do you look forward to studying or doing here):

ROMANCE/FRIENDSHIP INTENTIONS (who would you want to date or make friends with in college?):

GOALS AFTER GRADUATING:

FAVORITE MEDIA (TV, music, movies, etc.):

PROTAGONIST (would you be a protagonist? why or why not?):

MASTERMIND (would you be a mastermind? why or why not?):

VICTIM/KILLER/SURVIVOR (which is most likely? why?):

EXECUTION (optional):

WHAT ARE SOME THINGS YOU WOULD SAY IN THE FOLLOWING CIRCUMSTANCES...  
...MEETING SOMEONE FOR THE FIRST TIME:  
...HAVING A NORMAL DAY AT YOUR UNIVERSITY:  
...SPEAKING OPENLY TO A GOOD FRIEND ABOUT YOUR FEELINGS:  
...IN A STRESSFUL, LIFE-AND-DEATH SITUATION:

ANY OTHER INFORMATION YOU WISH TO SHARE?

 _New Hope University's School of Ultimates is a unique, invitation-only education program. Eschewing the usual college experience, students are prepared to take leadership roles in business, culture, and politics._

* * *

One month later, Dr. Eugene Alameda sat at his desk, leaning back in his office chair and staring at his computer screen. His office was a monument to his life's work: the school for Ultimates, a brief game to efficiently create productive members of society. There were photos of previous classes, records of graduates' progress, plans for future games.

The door to his office creaked open, and his self-declared 'assistant' sauntered in, bearing a sheet of white paper.

"Looks like they bought it, sir," the assistant sneered mockingly, accenting the word 'sir' with contempt. "I don't know what I was ever worried about."

The assistant slapped the paper down on the desk, Dr. Alameda's head dropping, his eyes staring blankly downward. At the top of the paper were the words "Grant renewal DR33672-AA confirmed."

The assistant laughed. "I got work to do, recruiting the new class of freshmen. But I just wanted to look at your ugly face and tell you that your little dream is going to continue. Congratulations, Doc." Still laughing, the assistant strode out of the office, slamming the door.

Dr. Alameda did not react. This was not surprising. He had been dead for nearly five years.

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

 **This SYOC is unusual for two reasons: The setting is a college, not a high school, and it takes place in the USA. Please consider this when submitting characters, especially when thinking of their talents. Many of the canon characters have talents that are distinctly Japanese, and others have talents associated with high school clubs or activities. Likewise, characters for this story could have talents specific to the US or to college. If it helps, the theme for this story is NARRATIVE.**

 **Characters must be submitted via PM. Please fill out the form in the story to submit a character. You may submit any number of characters that you wish. Deadline for submission is November 20. Mastermind AND protagonist are available slots. I'm happy to answer any questions people may have.**

 **The primary focus of this story will be the _mysteries_. Of course, there will be character interaction and development, but my main challenge to myself is to create difficult but solvable whodunnits.  
Posting schedule will be structured around this focus: there will be a larger gap of time before the murders are resolved, to give readers a chance to work out the killers on their own.**

 _ **NOTE: THERE IS A DISCORD SERVER FOR THIS STORY! LINK IS ON MY PROFILE; JUST REMOVE THE SPACES. IT'S AN IDEAL PLACE TO DISCUSS THE MYSTERIES!**_


	2. Prologue 2

**New Hope University School of Ultimates Campus,** **Main Quad:**

The main quad is the central location for Ultimate Students during the school year. Consisting of four buildings surrounding a beautiful, open grassy area, the main quad has all the amenities of a modern university with all the comforts of home! High-speed, wireless internet is available throughout the main quad. All buildings have both outdoor entrances and are linked by underground passages, for those days it's too cold to go outside.

The key locations are:

 **Clinton Dorm _:_** This recently renovated structure contains student living spaces. Each dorm 'room' contains a small living area, a bedroom, a bathroom, and a mini-kitchen. Dorm rooms are spacious, with out-facing windows and ample closet space.

Each dorm room is single-occupancy and is designed for privacy and comfort. Doors to each room lock automatically, and only each occupant will be given the appropriate keycard for access. All dorm rooms are on the fifth floor of this five-story building, with beautiful window views overlooking the quad. All students live in close proximity but without roommates, creating a sense of community but also providing quiet, personal spaces for quiet 'me-time.'

The ground floor of Clinton Dorm contains common areas frequently used by students for informal meetings, study space, and quiet reflection. There is a large student lounge with couches and a wide-screen television. Nearby, there is a computer lab stocked with modern photo and video manipulation, word processing, and statistics software. Finally, a small zen garden lies near the entrance in a high-ceiling solarium, filled with beautiful ferns, mosses, and bracken.

Floors two through four are not in use and _students may not access them for any reason._

Potential murder weapons: Each kitchen is stocked with a variety of stabbing and blunt implements. Dorm room windows open easily and could be used to push or toss a classmate to their death. Computer lab is stocked with various wires, easily used for hanging or strangulation.

 **Collins Gymnasium:** This modern, clean gym is located directly across the quad from the dorm. Features include a large, well-stocked weight room, a variety of aerobic equipment including elliptical machines and treadmills, various dance/yoga studios, four racquetball courts, and a natatorium. Students are encouraged to make any use of the gym that they wish: it is accessible and open twenty-four hours a day. Spare gym clothes will be provided upon request.

Potential murder weapons: The weight room contains literally hundreds of blunt instruments! Also, the natatorium has no lifeguard, and its cleaning supplies can be highly poisonous.

 **Worrell Student Union:** The two-story student union is home to meeting rooms ideal for clubs or informal get-togethers. It also contains the cafeteria, serving delicious, fresh food mooning, noon, and night. Our kitchens are entirely automated, set up to deliver a constantly shifting array of dishes. Tuesday is burrito night! Vegetarian and gluten-free options are available.

Finally, the union contains our student stores, which not only sells textbooks for all courses, but also any items students may need. Make sure to pick up a T-shirt with the school colors to wear to the next New Hope University basketball game! Go Bear Cubs!

Potential murder weapons: The student stores contains anything a bright, creative student would possibly need to commit murder!

 **Hazel Academic Suite:** This modern building serves as the location for general-education classes. Classrooms are spacious, naturally lit, and designed with a modern eye toward mobility and learn-sharing. The central auditorium, which comfortably seats over 100, is where students will meet for lectures as well as any important school-wide announcements or assemblies.

The basement of the H.A.S. contains a supply area with extra teaching supplies. It also houses the laundry room, which will be accessible to all students during daylight hours.

Potential murder weapons: All desks and chairs are able to be wielded as weapons. Also, I don't know... some of those industrial washers and dryers are pretty big, you could throw someone in there, or something.

 ** _Central area:_** Finally, the middle of the quad is an open, grassy area. It's not uncommon for students to relax with a game of pick-up frisbee or by tossing around a football. _Please pay no attention to the large monolith located directly in the middle of the quad, nor to the feelings of foreboding and dread that increase as you move closer to it._

Potential murder weapons: None.

* * *

The assistant was amused to find the graduation paperwork literally pinned to the office door with a dagger. The paperwork was unsigned, of course, but this time, on the signature line, was the scrawled message: _Until we both both burn._

"How melodramatic can you be?" the assistant thought.

The assistant unlocked the office door and entered, immediately walking to the clipboard on the nearby desk and writing another name on it.

They were coming in. The newest round of freshmen. The foot soldiers they'd be recruiting in the war between the generations, between the pampered young and the cynical old.

Things were looking good.

* * *

 **FINAL LIST OF TALENTS (?)**

 **16 Students in total**

 **8 female:**

 _Ultimate Debater  
_ _Ultimate Astronomer  
_ _Ultimate Girlfriend  
_ _Ultimate Lesbian Romance Author  
_ _Ultimate Fashion Designer  
_ _Ultimate Conductor_ _  
_ _Ultimate Chess Grandmaster  
_ _Ultimate Geneticist_

 **8 male**

 _Ultimate Paladin  
Ultimate Painter  
Ultimate Cadet  
Ultimate Demolitionist  
_ _Ultimate Game Designer  
_ _Ultimate House Producer  
_ _Ultimate Fraternity Brother  
_ _Ultimate Tank Commander_


	3. Intro to Psychology, Part A

I didn't even remember waking up. I was sitting in my Uber at the airport, pulling on my seatbelt and trying to figure out how to make small talk with the driver without making him think I'm an idiot, and then suddenly I was picking my head up off the desk and pulling stray hairs out of my mouth. There wasn't any gap at all, just like I blinked and I was suddenly in this classroom, disoriented and nauseated and cold.

The classroom was clean, sterile, bright, and modern. I quickly realized that I must be at the University, that my Uber must have gotten me here and I walked in and sat down without remembering, and I would have been impressed with the setting if I wasn't worrying my loss of memory meant I had a brain tumor. I became more convinced that I had a brain tumor when I got my ahold of myself and noticed that at the front of the classroom, covering its mouth with a fluffy paw and bouncing, was an animatronic bear.

A giant, moving, teddy bear. Like the kind you see at Chuck E. Cheese, but much more lifelike. It was half black and half white, with simultaneously a blank and evil expression. It was terrifying. I'm not sure if I screamed or not.

"Attention, new student!" bellowed a cartoonish voice from the bear as it waved its arms around. "It is now time for orientation! You are free to take notes, but all information will be provided to you in your handbook!"

"Um," I said, looking around the room numbly.

"Due to the high student-faculty ratio here at New Hope University, all students' orientations are one-on-one with your assigned adviser! I am Professor Monokuma; welcome! It's my job to help you adjust to life here."

I tried to think of a reply, but the bear suddenly whapped its paw down onto a small remote-control that was on a table in front of it. A powerpoint slide projected on the wall behind him, showing several smiling teenagers with backpacks. Words at the top of the screen read, "A School For Ultimates. For You, For Society."

He smacked the remote control several times, shuffling through a series of pictures: a bookish-looking man, a woman waving to a crowd, a man grinning on a stage accepting an award, and a woman standing confidently in front of an office building. "Gareth McGregor, podcast star, comedian, and actor," Monokuma said officially. "Selena Waytz-Gomez, congresswoman. Actor, writer, rapper, and Tony Award winner, Romeo San Marcos. Adena Hyatt, founder and chief CEO of Omicron Systems. What do all of these people have in common?"

I raised my hand. "Uh, how did I get here?"

"Right!" Monokuma barked. "They're all young, and they're all successful! But they're something else you may not know: they're all graduates of the School for Ultimates, here at New Hope University. And they're not alone."

He cycled through more pictures: an MMA fighter with her hands raised in victory, a pop star in a music video, a professor giving a TED talk, various rich-looking businesspeople, and finally a box that contained the word " **YOU?** "

"You should be proud of having made it made it this far, and the sky's the limit from here on out!" Monokuma's silly, high-pitched voice was oddly professional, which was somehow the most disorienting thing about this whole experience.

"Are you... the school's mascot?" I managed to ask.

"You've seen my work!" Monokuma spun around and posed like a bikini model. "Yes, I do moonlight as mascot at our school's athletic games. You bring a blush to an old bear's cheeks." He straightened, pounding his paw into his other paw. "But my main job... my _passion_... is helping you Ultimate students make the most of your time, here. Please, don't mind my appearance! Like all the faculty here, I've been chosen because of my skills as an educator!"

Despite everything, I began to relax. I knew college would be an adjustment... maybe it was just more of an adjustment than I'd thought?

"We just have a couple of bookkeeping issues to take care of!" Monokuma bellowed. He grabbed a stack of paper I hadn't noticed before, speedily waddled over to my desk, and plopped it down in front of me along with a black pen. "It's the standard enrollment agreement for the School of Arts and Sciences, saying you consent to our grading procedures and pedagogical methods, you agree to abide by rules set by the by the housing and safety office at all times you live on campus, you..."

As the bear droned on, I tried skimming through the papers before me. The text was complete gobbledygook, as far as I could tell, just pages of legalese. I glanced up at the screen at the front of the classroom: that box was still projected up there: **YOU?**

I could have left. Right then, I could have left, and it would have all been over before it began.

I briefly imagined myself just standing up and running from the room. I would get back on a plane and fly back across the country and told everyone I was enrolling in a regular university. I imagined their disappointed faces. I wouldn't be taking my place as an ultimate student; I threw away my chance for greatness.

Quickly, without thinking, I flipped to the final page of the document and signed my name.

"Pu hu hu hu hu..."

It was an awful sound, and it took me a moment to realize that it was Monokuma... laughing.

Very suddenly, he sprang at me and shoved something into my face. I felt damp coolness and the smell of rubbing alcohol filled my mouth and nose and I choked and everything just went dark.

* * *

I remembered waking up this time, because I had a pounding headache. I blearily pawed around; from the feel of it, I was lying on a bed. I cracked open my eyes.

I noticed the cameras first. Over a dozen cameras, sticking out of the ceiling, pointing in all directions, surely covering every last inch of the room. I sat up, ignoring the pain between my temples, and looked around.

I was in a comfortable living suite, like the swanky hotels they put me up in for tournaments sometimes. It was well-decorated and clean: soft, beige carpet, off-white walls, table, TV, love seat. But that wasn't what really captured my attention.

On the wall to my right, there were words gouged into the wall. It looked like someone had taken a knife and just carved them out; the letters were ugly and brutal.

The message said, **_DON'T SIGN ANYTHING_**

I sat there for several minutes, just breathing.

* * *

 _Author's note_

 _The majority of students have been submitted and accepted. I have received fantastic characters and hope to do them justice._

 _I am still accepting and welcoming new characters. I hope to begin with the first chapter next week, and I'll be able to begin as soon as the entire cast is in place._


	4. Intro to Psychology, Part B

**DORM: SAYA'S ROOM**

I searched the room first. It, indeed, just seemed to be a normal, strange only in how mundane it felt. There was terrible art on the walls and a comfortable soft carpeting on the floor. The suite was surprisingly large; I found a bathroom, a closet, and a small side room. It looked for all the world like an extremely swanky hotel suite; there was even a giant TV, an ironing table in the closet, and a cute little hair dryer attached to the wall.

I paused when I looked into that side room. It only contained a table, and on the table was a beautiful, crystal chess set.

I closed the door and returned to the main room. I looked out the large window next to the bed; there was a beautiful, grassy area just outside, surrounded by gothic-looking buildings. No one was in sight, and I could not see past the other buildings, but hat architecture looked very familiar: there were pictures of it in the materials for New Hope University.

I took a deep breath. So, on the way to start at my dream college, I had been kidnapped, tricked by a talking bear, and... enrolled in my dream college.

I stepped into the bathroom and stood in front of the sink, checking if there was anything unusual. Everything looked fine. My short, red hair was a bit messy, and there were dark rings under my green eyes that I assumed were side-effects from the drug used to knock me out, but mostly I looked fine. Just normal me.

* * *

 **NAME: Saya Wild** (Ally Nicole Rose)

 **TALENT: Ultimate Chess Grandmaster**

 **::::::**

 _Q: One more question: If your life was a story, what genre would it be?_

 _SW: Genre? Um. Good question. Mystery, I guess._

 _Q: Mystery?_

 _SW: Yeah. That might just be the genre I'd_ want _, though. I'd like to live in a world where everything is a puzzle, you know? There's always an answer, if you're smart enough to figure it out._

* * *

I had the urge to splash cold water on my face, which is something I've seen in movies but never in real life. It actually felt really refreshing. I looked myself square in the eyes, determined and resolved, and I nodded to myself. Without giving myself any time to second-guess, I marched out to the main door, opened it, and stepped out of the suite.

 **DORM: UPSTAIRS HALLWAY**

The hallway was large and white; there were what looked to be new carpets and a fresh coat of paint on the walls. Like in my room, there were cameras all over the ceiling.

But I didn't have time to take much in, because almost immediately, a woman in a long, flowing, red dress ran up to me, grabbed my shoulders, and stared earnestly into my face. "Oh my goodness!" she exclaimed. "Did you just wake up? Are you all right?"

She gazed at me with concern, but I couldn't bring myself to reply. This was literally the most gorgeous human being I had ever seen in my entire life. She had huge, blue, emotional eyes, long, wavy brown hair, and olive-colored, perfect skin. It was all I could do to keep from declaring my eternal love for her right at that moment. I'm joking. Not really. Kind of.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I must have frightened you, running up to you like that." She pulled back and looked away bashfully. "I'm Juliet. I think I'm a new student here, but I honestly don't know what's going on. Oh!" She suddenly snapped her fingers in realization. "Maybe you can help with the other girl!" Without waiting, she grabbed my wrist and ran off down the hallway, dragging me along.

* * *

 **NAME: Juliet Mountebank** (J Carp)

 **TALENT: Ultimate Girlfriend**

 **:::::::**

 _Q: So, if your life was a story, what genre would it be?_

 _JM: A fairy tale._ [inaudible] _beautiful fairy tale. A story of true love._

* * *

We ran off, and I tried not to think too hard about the fact that I was more put off by a beautiful woman than a robotic kidnap-bear. We rounded a corner in the hallway and found, before us, a very tall, young woman, hugging herself in distress and looking around in worry.

Juliet reached her, still holding onto my wrist. "I still don't know what's going on, but I found someone else! Um..." She looked at me with expectation.

"Saya Wild," I said. The other woman was pretty, too: she had royal-blue hair pulled back into a loose ponytail; dark roots were showing in her dye-job, but it actually made her look cool. She wore oddly bright and colorful clothes: a lavender T-shirt colorful stripes, jeans with embroidered, abstract flowers. She was holding a cheap-looking notebook. She looked to be over six feet in height, but she had a slight hunch, as if she was ashamed to be so tall.

From the look on her face, she was not any more immune to Juliet's charm than I was. Blushing, she held up an index finger. She pulled a pen out of her pocket and opened up her notebook, then traced the pen over the paper for no more than one second, her fingers working with blinding speed. She tore off the paper and handed it to us.

I was so gobsmacked by the display, I almost didn't read the message; she had written it supernaturally, surreally fast. But I looked down to see what she wrote: _I am Lucina Sorenson. I don't know how I got here. I cannot speak._

"Wow, that was neat!" Juliet enthused. "Were you enrolled in New Hope University, too?" Lucina nodded.

"Oh." I suddenly thought of something. "Um, were either of you scouted to join a special program? The School of Ultimates?"

"Yes!" Juliet enthused. She pointed at Lucina, who nodded.

"Me, too," I said. "I'm, um, well, when they recruited me, they called me the Ultimate Chess Grandmaster."

"Wow, that's amazing," Juliet cooed, making my face feel like it was bursting into flame. "Are you really a grandmaster?"

"Uh. Yes."

I never quite got used to this kind of attention and praise, but luckily, Lucina was writing a new note, which she showed to us: _Ultimate Conductor._ I guess we looked a bit blank at that, so she waved her pen around in the air like a baton.

"Oh," I said, "a musical conductor."

"Wow, you both are so brilliant and classy!" Juliet exclaimed. "I'm proud of what I was recruited for, but it's not impressive like you guys. The school said I'm the Ultimate Girlfriend."

I squinted at her in confusion. Was that the kind of thing universities typically focus on? "What does that mean?"

"I've dedicated myself completely to love," she answered, suddenly serious. "Love is all that really matters, after all, right? I'll do anything to support my sweetheart. I hadn't necessarily wanted to even go to college, but the school said it could help me learn new ways to be the best girlfriend I can be."

I glanced at Lucina. She glanced back. I don't think we found any answers in one another's expressions.

* * *

 **NAME: Lucina Sorenson** (ThatOneFireEmblemFan)

 **TALENT: Ultimate Conductor**

 **:::::::**

 _Q: If your life was a story, what genre would it be?_

 _Q: A note to the transcribers, I am now reading the subject's response to my question: quote, horror, unquote._

* * *

"Well, this is a relief, right?" Juliet continued, unperturbed. "Whatever's happening, it's part of the program."

"Comrades!" a voice suddenly barked from down the hallway. Juliet and I jumped (Lucina did not react at all), and we turned to see a rather large man striding toward us. He had short-cropped, dark hair, and he was wearing a black trench coat over a black military uniform, with a black officer's cap. But his eyes were brilliantly blue in contrast to all the black, and his welcoming smile looked surprisingly appropriate on the harsh features of his face. (He was also quite good-looking, I could not help but notice.)

"Greetings," he bellowed with a slight but noticeable German accent. "I am Earl Morale! I was recruited here as the Ultimate Tank Commander, and I'm happy to meet some of my fellow students!"

There was a slight pause as we took in this intimidatingly friendly man. Eventually, Lucina scribbled down a question that I'm sure was on all of our minds: _Tank?_

"Tanks, my mute friend!" Earl confirmed. "I have extensive, first-hand experience with the construction, maintenance, and deployment of any army's most glorious and useful weapon: the tank!"

"Oh, my!" Juliet nearly squealed. "That's so impressive!"

"I don't know about you, but we were kidnapped and brought here," I broke in. "We're not sure we're safe."

"Of course you're safe, with me around!" Earl boasted. "This is merely a unique form of education; the military is no stranger to it. In my training, I once had to survive for three weeks on a desert mesa, and all I was given were a handful of field rations and a tank! But when I returned to the base, I left many cactuses crushed in my wake, and I knew I was truly no longer a boy, but rather a man."

* * *

 **NAME: Earl Morale** (danieltruong1917)

 **TALENT: Ultimate Tank Commander**

 **:::::::**

 _Q: If your life was a story, what genre would it be?_

 _EM: Adventure!_

 _Q: What kind of adventure? Swordfighting, exploring, disaster..._

 _EM: Every kind. Every adventure._

* * *

I felt a soft pressure on my arm. I turned to see Lucina giving me a look that made it clear she was just about done with Earl Morale. She held out a sheet of paper: _Explore?_

I nodded to her. "Um, it's great to meet you," I said to Earl with some awkwardness, "but I want to go downstairs to figure out what's going on."

"Yes, that's a great idea!" Juliet agreed. "You two will make a great team! I want to stay here to greet anyone else that wakes up. The doors are locked."

"I will stay, too!" Earl stated. "Any late-risers will benefit from a being met by a strong leader!" He offered Juliet his arm with a surprisingly smooth grin. She hooked her elbow into his, and they strode back down the hallway.

Lucina rolled her eyes to me, and I giggled. I noticed she had a scar across her face leading to one of her (thankfully undamaged) eyes. I did my best to ignore it. "Um, so how do we get downstairs?" I asked.

Lucina pointed the other way down the hallway, and we walked, passing a few more doors to what I assumed were suites like mine. We eventually got to an alcove with large elevator doors. I pushed the button (there was only one, with an arrow pointing down), and with a pleasant ding, the elevator opened up.

Lucina, thankfully, did not seem to expect me to speak as we rode down in silence, so I did my best to organize my thoughts and my experiences so far:

* * *

 _Fact 1: After arriving at the airport to move in to my college dorm, I was apparently kidnapped and forcibly brought... to the college dorm I was going to move into anyway_

 _Fact 2: Whoever is responsible for this apparently communicates through a robotic bear (is it controlled remotely or is it some sort of amazing A.I. technology?)_

 _Fact 3: The same process apparently occurred to at least three others, all of whom were likewise enrolled in the same program I was. I would think, therefore, this is typical, but..._

 _Fact 4: ...There was a warning written on the inside of my suite, which came too late to do any good_

 **Students encountered so far:**

 _-Saya Wild, Ultimate Chess Grandmaster  
_ _- **King**  
_ _-Me  
_ _-Kind of needs a haircut  
_ _-Not freaking out so far; good job me!  
_

 _-Juliet Mountebank, Ultimate Girlfriend  
_ _ **-Pawn**  
_ _-Super hot; really have to be careful  
_ _-No clue what an 'Ultimate Girlfriend' could possibly be  
_ _-Sweet and friendly, but maybe some regressive social views?_

 _-Lucina Sorenson, Ultimate Conductor  
_ _- **Knight**  
_ _-Also very beautiful, but she has a scar so don't stare at her or she'll think you're staring at that  
_ _-Mute  
_ _-Seems kind of wounded, but also nice  
-Wears bright colors, but acts shy... study in contrasts?_

 _-Earl Morale, Ultimate Tank Commander  
_ _- **Rook**  
_ _-Enthusiastic and aggressive, but I think a good guy  
_ _-Likes tanks  
_ _-Does anyone even use tanks anymore?  
_ _-Flirty; easy on the eyes_

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

 **Okay, we're off and running. I ended up with too many great character submissions to use. I want to thank everyone who submitted, and if your character didn't make it in, don't assume that means I didn't like it. I just got excited about this particular combination of people.**

 **Bullet-point listing of key characters and plot points inspired by irwegwert's story Society of Talent.**


	5. Intro to Psychology, Part C

There was only one floor to go to, but the elevator trip felt longer than just a single story. Still, the car slowed just as normal and stopped and the doors opened with a pleasant ding.

 **DORM: ELEVATOR HALLWAY EAST**

I smiled to Lucina as pleasantly as I could, and we walked out into a very normal-looking lobby area, with potted plants on tables and little nooks for charging phones (that reminded me: I checked my pocket and confirmed that my cell phone was no longer with me). The only strange thing was the cameras all over the ceiling, just like upstairs. Lucina shrugged, and we started off down a small hallway towards what looked to be a larger, central area.

"Ods bodkins!" a voice rang out.

We turned to see a young man running toward us looking completely flabbergasted. I was pretty flabbergasted myself: his tanned skin and short, dark hair looked normal enough (and he continued the pattern of our classmates being quite good-looking), but he was dressed in a monk's robe. Literally, a brown robe with a rope tied around his waist and everything.

The man reached us and looked back and forth in shock. "Where did you come from?" he asked. "You appeared from a dead-end hallway like wizards!"

I knew I would have to do the talking for my little two-woman team, but I did not expect to run into anyone like this. "Uh. We got off the elevator."

The monk-boy squinted at us. "Elevator."

"Y...yes. We were upstairs, and we rode the elevator down."

"You _elevated down_?" The boy squeezed his head in bafflement. "Riddles on top of riddles!"

I put my hand up. "Hold on, you don't know what an elevator is?" I took a closer look at him. He really seemed to be for real; his face was innocent and confused. He was not particularly tall... Lucina towered over him, even slightly hunched... but he was broad and pure muscle.

He bowed his head. "I was raised in near seclusion to learn how to serve Our Lord, and as such, I am new to this land of wonders."

"Oh." I decided it was best to just accept everything for now and worry if I was going insane later. "Well, an elevator is a small room that can carry you to another level in a building. Do you see those doors, there?" I pointed back from where we had come. "Those lead to the elevator."

"Ah, yes!" The man snapped his fingers. "The metal box! Yes, the small mouse-girl pushed me into one earlier, on the opposite side of this building. I was quite confused when I suddenly found myself in a new place! Thank you for explaining it." He grinned with genuine gratitude.

Despite everything, I felt kind of comfortable around this guy. "Well, I'm Saya, the Ultimate Chess Grandmaster. This is Lucina, the Ultimate Conductor. Are you a student here, too?"

"Oh, yes!" The man switched to a rigid stance, placing a fist on his chest. "I am Rodrigo Diaz, and I have been declared to be the Ultimate Paladin. I am honored to meet you, and my sword and my loyalty are yours."

His seriousness was intimidating, and I felt like I should reciprocate somehow. "Ah. Thank you. And my... chess is yours. If you need it." I ignored the look Lucina gave me.

Rodrigo, for his part, looked pleased. "This place is so bright and cheerful compared to the monastery! I am overjoyed that the people are likewise."

I nodded; my good feeling about this weirdo was increasing. "We're exploring and trying to figure out what's going on. Would you like to come with us?"

Rodrigo shook his head. "No, I must learn how to use these amazing elevating machines, if I am to live here." He gave us another fist-chest salute. "Till later, friends."

* * *

 **NAME: Rodrigo Diaz** (danieltruong1917)

 **TITLE: Ultimate Paladin**

 **:::::::**

 _Q: If your life was a story, what would be its genre?_  
 _RD: An epic of derring and adventure, sadly._  
 _Q: Sadly?_  
 _RD: I would prefer a picaresque lark, or even a farce. I know little of this, but what is the term... I heard it on the flying machine. A story where drawings move as if alive._  
 _Q: A cartoon?_  
 _RD: Yes! Yes. I wish my life was as a cartoon._

* * *

We watched him go. I heard scribbling and turned to see Lucina show me a new note: _Nice guy._

"I think so, too."

 **DORM: ENTRANCE LOBBY**

We walked into the larger space, to what appeared to be an entrance area. Large doors lay on one wall, with hallways in various directions. There were small boxes lining the walls; mailboxes, I presumed. A desk labeled VISITOR INFORMATION sat, abandoned.

I noticed a set of glass doors near the large one, and I saw they led out into a large, sunlit room. There were two people in there, having what looked to be an argument. I crept closer and carefully opened the door.

 **DORM: SOLARIUM**

"...because you can't do nothing when there's work to be done!" a shrill voice pierced the air, contrasting horribly with the loveliness and serenity of this solarium we now found ourselves in. The source of the voice was probably the smallest person I had ever seen (Rodrigo's 'mouse-girl,' I realized). She was dressed in colorful, business-casual clothes, with a dark lilac jacket and a pink beret on her head. Her very long, black hair shone against her pale skin. She was well under five feet tall and had a tiny frame, though she seemed to have plenty of energy, the way she was moving around and yelling.

The man she was yelling at looked very vaguely annoyed. "I'm not doing nothing," he replied calmly. "I'm relaxing. It's important for mental health." He was tall and well-built, with a shaved head and fairly dark skin. He was wearing a green, camouflage-colored uniform, but with a red baseball cap.

"Relaxing?" the girl shrieked. "We're at school. We're supposed to be learning. We..." The man had noticed us and indicated with a tilt of his head. The girl turned, noticing us, and crossed her arms over her chest. "More people. Fine." She stomped over to us and glared with dark, dark eyes. "Do you work here?"

I shrank back, despite her size. She was even shorter than I'd originally thought... maybe 4'8" or so. She was almost certainly small enough to be a dwarf, but she didn't have the body proportions of other little people I'd met; she just looked like an average young woman, except tiny. "No." I noticed Lucina looked terrified, so I leaned forward a bit. "We're students. I'm Sa..."

"Whatever. What are you good at?" She pointed back over her shoulder. "This lump won't help."

The man walked closer, smiling in a friendly way. "Hi! I'm Giuseppe, but you can call me Bepi. Or Lump, I guess." He was handsome, too, but he had a large scar from his forehead down to his neck, slashing across a closed and probably long-since destroyed eye. "This is Ashley."

"Ashley Coelho, the Ultimate Debater," the girl barked. "Don't forget it." She regarded us with irritation. "So, you don't work here? You're students? You'd have to tell us if you had any clues."

"What?" I looked between them for a moment in confusion. "Clues?"

"Yes, clues!" Ashley confirmed. "We're students at the most prestigious college in the country! This is obviously our first test! Like an escape room, except it contributes to your GPA!"

I hadn't thought of that, but it seemed pretty plausible. An elaborate getting-to-know-you exercise, like that horrible ropes course they made me do once. I heard paper tearing, and Lucina handed a note to them.

Ashley greedily grabbed the note, then frowned. "Oh, it's just your names." She sighed. "Well, good to meet you, I guess. I'm going to go solve this. Alone. I am not starting my college career with an A minus." She stomped out of the room, pushed open the doors, and left.

* * *

 **NAME: Ashley Coelho** (QueenOfChocolateWinx)

 **TALENT: Ultimate Debater**

 **:::::::**

 _Q: If your life was a story, what genre would it be?_  
 _AC: Life isn't a story._  
 _Q: But if it was..._  
 _AC: But it's not._  
 _Q: Okay, then._

* * *

Giuseppe shook his head. "Thanks for interrupting. I think she's probably a pretty cool person, but... I don't think she handles stress very well."

"I'm kind of amazed we're not all acting like that," I remarked. Lucina nodded in agreement.

Giuseppe shrugged. "Some of us are used to more stressful situations, I guess. Chess and conducting, those are pretty high-stakes. And, well, I know a little about that, too." He tapped the side of his head next to his scar. "I was recruited here as the Ultimate Cadet."

I suddenly noticed that his uniform had a tag on it that said CADET 2: CHILD SOLDIER PROGRAM.

He noticed me looking. "You don't want to know what happened to Cadet 1," he said. I honestly could not tell if it was a joke or not.

* * *

 **NAME: Giuseppe "Bepi" Perfetto** (Chandagrigus)

 **TALENT: Ultimate Cadet**

 **:::::::**

 _Q: We're almost done; just one final question. If your life was a story, what genre would it be?_  
 _GP:_ [laughs] _You know those shitty movies? With the DVD covers that trick people into thinking they're real, big-budget, Hollywood blockbusters? That genre._ [laughs] _Whatever that is._

* * *

I knew I'd meet people from a lot of different backgrounds in college, but I had not expected actual child soldiers. I suddenly did not know what to say.

Bepi gave me an intense, hollow look. "You should marry someone from Prague," he said.

I blinked. "What?"

"You should marry someone from Prague. Do you know why?"

I blinked again. "No."

"Because. That way, you'd always have a Czech mate."

We simply stared at him for a moment, but then Lucina suddenly doubled over. I realized she was laughing silently, and I was surprised when a giggle escaped my lips, too. "That's terrible."

He simply grinned. "Do you mind if I come with you to try to meet some of the others? I'm hoping the Ultimate Dad Joker is here and I can become their apprentice."

"Sure," I said. Lucina nodded to him warmly, her stance more relaxed than it had been before. The three of us walked out of the solarium and back to the central entrance hall.

 **DORM: ENTRANCE LOBBY**

"Did you guys just come downstairs?" Bepi asked. At our nods, he scratched his chin in thought. "Those probably lead outside, but I haven't been out there yet," he said, pointing at the large doors nearby. He indicated two hallways across from one another. "Those lead to elevators, which seem to be the only way upstairs to our rooms."

"Hmm." I put my hands on my hips. "Did you meet Juliet? Brown hair, red dress?"

Bepi nodded. "She makes an impression."

"We met her, too," I said. "So if you came down through there..." I pointing down the hallway opposite from the one Lucina and I had emerged from, "...then that means all our rooms are on the same hallway, with elevators at either end."

Lucina scribbled a quick note and held it out to us: My window looked higher up than the second story. What about the floors in between?

"Good question," I replied. I scoped out the room; the door to the solarium and the doors to the outside were behind me; hallways leading to the elevators were to my right and left. Ahead of us, there were two marked bathrooms, the empty information desk, and two short passages leading to closed doors. I shrugged and headed to one of the closed doors, the others following behind.

 **DORM: LOUNGE**

I opened the door to reveal a very comfortable-looking lounge, with a number of cushy chairs and couches. There was a large TV on one side of the room, and a large row of bookcases on the opposite wall. A woman stood in front of the bookcase, scanning the titles, her straight, black hair reaching halfway down her back. Her hips jutted off to the side as if she was posing enticingly for us.

But, as we stepped into the room, she turned in surprise and regarded us with a slightly amused expression. She strode closer.

She wore a black, too-tight dress and a dark-grey trench coat. She had not put her arms through the sleeves, so it hung over her like a cape, and it allowed us to see the onyx gloves that reached almost all the way to her elbow.

She stood before us confidently. "What have we here?" she proclaimed with excellent diction. "A mouse, a tall mouse, and a cripple." She was extremely voluptuous, and her body jiggled, not unpleasantly, as she laughed to herself. "What an odd collection of misfits."

I think all three of us were too surprised to be offended, but luckily she just kept talking. "My name is Jane Edwards, and I was recruited here as the Ultimate Geneticist." She had a strange accent; kind of Britishy but not anything I recognized. Maybe she was Welsh, or something?

I glanced at my companions but found no help, so I spoke up. "Hi. I'm Saya Wild, the Ultimate Chess Grandmaster, and this is Lucina Sorenson, the Ultimate Conductor, and Giuseppe Perfetto, the Ultimate Cadet."

She had clearly lost interest several words into my greeting, and she tilted her head slightly. "You're good at a game. You do... art..." (she said the word with a near shudder) "...And you kill things. That's... all very charming, I suppose, but you'll forgive me if I was hoping for classmates who were a bit more... academic."

* * *

 **NAME: Jane Edwards** (Tario Ed)

 **TALENT: Ultimate Geneticist**

 **:::::::**

 _Q: If your life was a story, what would its genre be?_  
 _JE:_ [laughs] _The typical person would likely consider it science fiction. That's rubbish, of course. If it's science, it can't be fiction._

* * *

Lucina withdrew in on herself at the insult, but Bepi seemed completely unphased. "You must have known how wide the range of talents is here when you were recruited, right?" he asked.

Jane waved her hand dismissively. "Oh, I didn't pay attention. I work for the Oasis Corporation as a project manager, and my employers have a technical requirement such positions require a degree. I'm only here to check a box; it's a bother, really."

I think she expected us to be impressed at her status, and at our blank looks, she narrowed her eyes. "It's been a pleasure, but I'm afraid you caught me at a rather busy moment. I was looking through the book selection here. It's quite paltry, but there may be something of scientific merit yet." She turned and walked back to the bookshelf, quite clearly indicating her lack of interest in continuing the conversation.

Lucina held up her notebook with one word written on it. I don't want to say what the word was, but I agreed with it. We shuffled out of the lounge, closing the door behind us, and we went to the other short hallway to see what was behind the other door.

 **DORM: COMPUTER LAB**

We stepped into a sterile-looking computer lab with bright, white walls and fluorescent lights. The computers looked quite new, but they were all turned off.

Ashley was on her hands and knees on the floor. She had opened up a computer and was currently digging through its insides. She looked even more annoyed than she had been before, but that was probably because of the man that was with her.

He seemed as easy-going as she was serious. He wore chino shorts and a salmon-colored, Polo shirt. He reclined in a computer chair next to Ashley, and his blonde hair stuck out messily under his backwards baseball cap.

"Could I have the screwdriver, please?" she asked. He blithely reached down to pick up a screwdriver and handed it over. As Ashley took it, she noticed us in the doorway and glared, then went back down to her work.

The man noticed us and waved. "Oh hey!" he greeted. "More hot chicks!" We clearly had no clue how to react to that, but the man was unmoved. "I'm JP Laettner, good to meet you!"

"Go on, tell them what your talent is," Ashley grunted, not looking up.

JP grinned. "I'm the Ultimate Fraternity Brother!" he said. "So I'm gonna be your hookup on the social scene this year. A real G.F.Q., you know what I'm saying?" He laughed.

"What does 'Ultimate Fraternity Brother' mean?" I asked.

JP spun around in his chair. "It means I'm a real part of a community," he replied enthusiastically. "I'm in Chi Chi Chi. Trip-Chi! It goes all the way back to the Civil War, you know? Bros helping each other. I know the traditions, I got the connections, and the ladies can't get enough." He had a slight pudge in his belly, but otherwise he was *also* very handsome. I was starting to feel self-conscious.

* * *

 **NAME: JP Laettner** (J Carp)

 **TALENT: Ultimate Fraternity Brother**

 **:::::::**

 _Q: If your life was a story, what genre would it be?_  
 _JPL: Porno._ [laughs]  
 _Q: That's it?_  
 _JPL: Yeah. But dude, like, a classy porno. None of that German shit._

* * *

Bepi looked down at the tiny lady poking a screwdriver into the computer. "Ashley, what are you doing?"

"Forget it," Ashley said, coldly. She looked up and glared. "You didn't want to help."

Bepi looked at us and shrugged. "Well, we're going to keep exploring," he said. "Good luck with... all that."

"See you later, ladies," JP called. "And you too, bro. Trip-chi! We're rushing later, don't miss out!"

We stepped out of the computer lab quickly.

 **DORM: ENTRANCE LOBBY**

I intended to debrief with the others as soon as the door was closed (and yes, maybe laugh a little about the odd couple we'd just run into) but I quickly stopped short. There was a young man standing in the middle of the room, stock-still, staring at us.

He was wearing a black hoodie with some logo on it (I thought it might have been for some video game series, but I wasn't sure), sweatpants with a fire pattern up the side, and a pair of red headphones around his neck. His shoulder-length hair hung loosely, and he even had a soul patch, which eerily contrasted with his blank expression. Black-rimmed glasses sat on his face, glinting oddly in the light.

Lucina and I were surprised, but Giuseppe's reaction was surprising. His body tensed, and he took a half-step forward, as if ready to protect us. "Hello, friend," he said eventually. "Were you here a minute ago?"

"No." The man had a slight accent; I thought maybe he was Puerto Rican or something.

After another few seconds of silence, the man's face, with no noticeable prompt, settled into something approaching a friendly smile. "Therion Suarez. Ultimate Game Designer."

I smiled back to try to ease the tension. "Hi. I'm Saya, this is Lucina and Giuseppe. We're exploring to try to figure out what's going on. Did you just wake up here, too?"

"Robot bear," Therion confirmed. "Ether rag." He looked at us curiously. "You all have a lot of secrets."

I blinked. "What?"

"Secrets. Your body language." He walked closer, looking at Lucina especially. "Should be more careful. Can't afford to give so much away."

His friendly smile had not flagged, which was the most disturbing part. "What do you mean, 'can't afford to?'"

He shrugged. "This place is dangerous. Not sure why yet. Be careful who you trust." And then, he just waved and began casually walking away toward one of the elevators. "Catch you later."

We watched him go, nonplussed.

* * *

 **NAME: Therion Suarez** (Epifanio Therion)

 **TALENT: Ultimate Game Designer**

 **:::::::**

 _Q: Final question: if your life was a story, what would its genre be?_  
 _TS: Story's not important. Gameplay is what matters. I'm a strategy game._  
 _Q: A strategy game?_  
 _TS: Use your resources. Seems simple. Not really simple._

* * *

Although Therion hadn't done anything particularly threatening, I couldn't help but feel... uncomfortable. Lucina was especially affected, clutching her chest and breathing quickly. I reached out to her but did not let my fingers actually touch her arm. "You okay?"

She nodded, but it was unconvincing. Giuseppe frowned. "Maybe we should split up. Lucina and I will stay here and relax for a minute. Saya, you scout around outside and see if there's anyone else out there, okay? Report back to us when you're done."

That sounded like a good plan to me; it might get dangerous still hanging out with Lucina after what Therion said about secrets, and I felt flattered, like I was a real spy being sent on a real mission. "Okay. I'll come back and fill you in later."

As Bepi led Lucina to a nearby chair, I approached the doors to the outside.

I just couldn't get over how normal everything was, even if the people I was meeting were a bunch of oddballs. And what did Therion mean when he said this place was dangerous? We couldn't possibly be in danger; we were just in a normal college dorm. But even as I had the thought, an unsettling feeling settled into my stomach.

* * *

 _Fact 5: Two sets of elevators go up to the dorm rooms. Every suite in the building seems to be on the same hallway, but I don't know for sure._

 _Fact 6: On the ground floor, the elevators are across the building from one another. Hallways lead from the elevators to a large, central area with mailboxes, bathrooms, and an information desk._

 _Fact 7: Branching off of the central area are a solarium, a computer lab, and a lounge._

 _Fact 8: Most people seem pretty convinced this is all just a strange kind of lesson for its Ultimates, but at least some of us are worried._

 **STUDENTS MET SO FAR:**

 _-Rodrigo Diaz, Ultimate Paladin_  
 _- **Bishop**_  
 _-Dresses like a monk_  
 _-Grew up in a monastery without access to modern technology_  
 _-Seems honorable and religious_

 _-Ashley Coelho, Ultimate Debater_  
 _- **Queen**_  
 _-Very small, but kinda terrifying_  
 _-High strung, focused on academics_  
 _-The only person I've met so far who isn't very good-looking, but that's probably just because she sort of looks like a little kid_

 _-Giuseppe Perfetto, Ultimate Cadet_  
 _- **Pawn**_  
 _-Says we can call him 'Bepi'_  
 _-Really nice_  
 _-Some kind of horrible past; scarred face and damaged eye. Maybe he and Lucina can be scar buddies?_  
 _-Oh my god, Saya, that was a terrible thing to think, what is wrong with you_

 _-Jane Edwards, Ultimate Geneticist_  
 _- **Bishop**_  
 _-Rude and snobby_  
 _-Hot, of course, god_  
 _-Obviously very smart and good at science, but doesn't seem to care about anything BUT science_

 _-JP Laettner, Ultimate Fraternity Brother_  
 _- **Knight**_  
 _-Ultimate Fraternity Brother what even_

 _-Therion Suarez, Ultimate Game Designer_  
 _- **Knight**_  
 _-Offputting, but I can't really tell if he's actually trying to be friendly?_  
 _-Good at reading people_  
 _-Warned about some kind of danger_

* * *

 **Character theme songs are up on my profile; I find them helpful at understanding motivations and characterizations.**


	6. Intro to Psychology, Part D

**MAIN QUAD**

The warm, Autumn breeze greeted me ass I stepped outside. It was a beautiful day, the blue sky gleaming. But there was something odd about the specific color blue that I couldn't quite put my finger on. It was... purpley. Off.

I found myself in a large, grassy area surrounded by four buildings. There were large fences between the buildings, blocking off access to other parts of campus. I was somehow not particularly shocked or surprised by this; being trapped already just felt like part of the situation.

There was a large monolith in the center of the quad; it looked like a sculpture that a talentless artist had left unfinished. The rock was jet black and shiny; it glistened in the daylight.

As I looked around the space, I realized I was not alone. Monokuma stood next to the dorm's wall, several feet away. He was dipping a sponge into a bucket and muttering to himself. On the side of the wall in front of him, someone had written, in hot-pink spray paint: **THE BEAR IS A LIAR**

He noticed me and waved cheerfully, even as he scrubbed furiously on the message. "Isn't it a delight to see you, my dear student!" he called. "Please ignore this shameful piece of vandalism! I wanted to have it cleaned up by now, but the beginning of the semester is always a bit of a rush!"

I looked at the graffiti. Then I looked back at him.

"Eh heh heh!" he giggled, rubbing the back of his head nervously. "Students can get restless before classes start, so sometimes they pull silly pranks."

"Am I trapped here?" I asked.

"'Trapped' is such a philosophically complicated word," Monokuma replied, turning away to scrub at the graffiti some more. "College is about broadening your ways of thinking!"

"Do you..."

"All your questions will be answered during our introductory class session," Monokuma interrupted, not turning around. "If you want to meet all your classmates, you should try the other buildings!" He gestured over to the building to the right of our dorm. "I saw someone head into the student union just a few minutes ago." He began scrubbing harder, humming.

I looked at the student union he'd indicated, then back to him. I felt ridiculous doing what he suggested, but I felt even more ridiculous considering him so dangerous that I avoided doing what he suggested. I realized that the song he was humming was "Nasty" by Janet Jackson.

Honestly too confused to keep thinking about it, I walked blankly to the union and went inside.

 **STUDENT UNION: ENTRANCE**

The inside of the building looked moderny, that vaguely dated-looking, everything-is-glass-and-sharp-edges look I'd seen in office buildings. I saw stairs heading up to a hallway that appeared to be lined with small meeting rooms, a large hallway leading to my left, and another large hallway directly ahead.

Just when I was trying to decide which way to go, the decision was made for me: I heard a loud crashing noise coming from the hallway on my left, along with gruff, shouted cursing. Stupidly, naively, I ran towards it.

 **STUDENT UNION: CAFETERIA**

I found myself in a large, clean cafeteria. Compared to even the high-class, swanky private high schools I'd visited, this place was nice. A variety of comfortable-looking tables and chairs filled the space, and sparklingly clean counters protruded from shuttered-off windows. The only food currently in sight was a Keurig coffee-maker and a row of cereal dispensers, but this was still obviously a new and expensive place.

Another crash captured my attention, and I looked over to my right. There was a young man standing next to an overturned chair, fuming and quaking. He was tall and muscular, with a yellow headband pushed up against his dark brown hair, wearing a dirty, brown, badge-covered jacket and tattered, black jeans.

Another young man sat at a table nearby, head encased in large earphones and eyes closed. He was pale and much smaller, wearing a large, black T-shirt and baggy jeans. He appeared to be pointedly ignoring the other guy.

"Oi!" Headband Man shouted, smacking over another chair. "Look at me! Hey!" Headphones didn't reply.

I took a hesitant step forward. "Um, excuse me?"

Headband Man whirled on me, frantic, then simply glared. "You know this bloke?" He had a British accent too, but I recognized this one: working-class Manchester. "Hanging motherfucker gets all up in my face, then sits down like nothing." He suddenly whirled on the other man. "You hear me, mate?! Oi!"

I was grateful Lucina hadn't come with me; she'd be completely freaked out by this. "Uh... maybe it's a misunderstanding? I..."

"Fuck, I ain't got time for this." Headband Man walked towards the door, glaring at me and pointing an angry finger at the other guy. "You keep that fucker away from me, or I'll blow him to fucking pieces, you hear me?"

"Blow him to pieces...?" I asked, but he had already stormed out.

* * *

 _NAME: Barrett Wood (XxxInquisitorXxx)_  
 _TALENT: Ultimate Demolitionist_

 _:::::::_

 _Q: Last question. If your life was a story, what would the genre be?_  
 _BW: Is fuck you a genre?_  
 _Q: I think you know perfectly well it's not._

* * *

Bewildered, I turned back to the other man, who waved to me, a friendly smile on his face. He pulled his headphones off, electronic beats echoing softly from them. "Hey, are you a student here, too?"

I blinked. "Um, yes. Saya Wild, Ultimate Chess Grandmaster."

He reached a fist out. After a moment of confusion, I walked forward, my own fist outstretched. He gave me a jarringly powerful fist bump. "I'm DJ Rocky K, the Ultimate House Music Producer. Repping NYC."

"Oh." I hadn't known anyone actually fist-bumped in real life, but compared to Headband Man, Rocky seemed so friendly, I was willing to go along with anything. "I'm from Miami."

"Miami!" Rocky grinned. "Sweet." He appeared to have nothing else to say on the subject.

I scratched the back of my head in confusion and pointed at the door. "Um, what was the deal with that guy?"

Rocky rolled his eyes. "Said his name was Barrett or something. He's a total asshole, right? Pissed me off hardcore. But I medicated before I took a swing."

"Medicated?" I pointed at his headphones. "You mean, the music?"

"Yeah. Tip, because you seem pretty cool: I get kinda out of control sometimes, but get me listening to my music, and I'm sweet as a little baby."

* * *

 _NAME: DJ Rocky K (gamergirl101)_  
 _TALENT: Ultimate House Music Producer_

 _:::::::_

 _Q: If your life was a... could you remove your headphones please? Thank you. We're almost finished. If your life was a story, what genre would it be?_  
 _DJR: Story? Fuck, man, this is the only story I need._ [taps rhythmically on the tabletop]  
 _Q: For the sake of the transcribers, could you do your best to put your answers into words?_  
 _DJR:_ [increases the volume of his tapping]

* * *

I nodded. "Um, so I'm trying to go around to meet everyone, and try to figure out what's going on. Do you... want to come with me?"

"Nah, I'm cool." Rocky slipped his headphones back on. "I'm just gonna hang here. I don't really give a shit, as long as I can make my music." He reached into a backpack next to him and pulled out a small synthesizer, connected to his headphones with a long, black cable. "Hey, but see you later, huh? Feel like we got a vibe, here."

I could not hide my blush, but luckily his attention was entirely on his synthesizer. After a moment standing there awkwardly, I stepped out of the cafeteria. I supposed I should check out the other big hallway.

 **STUDENT UNION: STUDENT STORES**

I found myself in a large store, chest-high rose of merchandise spread out in all directions. The area nearest to the entrance seemed just like a normal convenience store: snacks, soda, soap, and so forth. But just nearby, things got a bit stranger. In one direction, a sign hung that said **LANDSCAPING TOOLS** , and in another direction a sign said **CHEMICALS AND COMPOUNDS**.

Nearby, a young woman stood with her back to me, critically examining some T-shirts hung on a rack. I approached, reminding myself that the hit-rate for terrifying classmates was still less than 50%. "Um, hi!"

The woman turned, and I got a good look at her. She had brown skin, her black hair pulled into a ponytail, with white feathers braided throughout. She wore a large purple duster with stars and butterflies embroidered on it, with a black, v-neck shirt and lace-up jeans. Every element of her presentation was ridiculous, but it somehow came off as chic rather than garish.

She looked at me silently for an uncomfortable moment, then she blinked. "Oh. Hi! You're... hm." She tilted her head and eyed my plum-colored jumper and jeans. "That's... a choice."

I looked down, suddenly insecure. "Uh." It actually hadn't really been a choice; I'd just determined that these clothes were comfortable and wouldn't make me stand out too much, and that was it. But I had no idea how to say that. "Do you... not like my outfit?"

The woman stared, then suddenly met my eyes with a smile. 'Oh, hey, I'm Nicole Archina. Ultimate Fashion Designer. Hey, what do you think of these?" She turned to the rack of shirts and held one up. A cartoon Monokuma grinned at me. "Creepy, huh? I'm already so over this bear thing. Oh!" She dropped the shirt on the floor and turned directly to face me, indicating her very tight jeans, the lavender strings laced in more complicated patterns than I'd thought. "You like my pants? I just made them. I was a little nervous about wearing them on move-in day, you know, meeting a bunch of white people, no offense, but I think they turned out great."

I noticed she had a spool of thread and two knitting needles hanging from her belt. "They look really good," I tried to enthuse while also trying not to look at her lower-half too closely. "I'm Saya, Ultimate Chess Grandmaster. I'm just trying to go around to meet everyone. Do you remember how you got here?"

But Nicole was already turned away from me and wandering down the aisle towards the athletic wear. "Ugh, what's with the neon socks? Never wear neon socks!" She muttered to herself for another moment, then whirled back suddenly, holding up a finger. "Hey! There's a guy walking around in like a brown jacket with a bunch of patches and badges. Watch out for him, he's kind of violent."

"I met him," I said. "Barrett, I think? Yeah, he seems like trouble."

"There's a monk, too!" Nicole added enthusiastically, now tugging on some pantyhose. "Like, suuuuuuper hot monk boy. Hey, do you like Call Of Duty?"

"I..." But there was no point to even finishing my sentence, because Nicole, immediately after asking the question, wandered off around a corner, deeper into the store.

* * *

 _NAME: Nicole Archina (HeadphonesLynx07)  
_ _TALENT: Ultimate Fashion Designer_

 _:::::::_

 _Q: One last question before we finish up. If your life was a story, what genre would it be?  
_ _NA:_ [inaudible] _  
_ _Q: I'm sorry, please speak more clearly for the recorder.  
_ _NA: Like, a gritty street romance. Struggling on_ [inaudible] _and getting out of the ghetto. Coming-of-age, is that what they call it?_ [inaudible]

* * *

I stood still for a moment. Even after meeting a mute, a paladin, a child soldier, and a tank commander, this had been my most perplexing conversation yet.

 **STUDENT UNION: ENTRANCE**

I returned to the entrance, still bemused. The student union seemed like a place I'd be going to a lot... maybe for every meal for the next four years! But I was still curious to explore the other buildings on the quad.

 **MAIN QUAD**

As I walked outside, I noticed that both Monokuma and the spray-painted graffiti were gone. Instead, a man I didn't recognize stood next to the central monolith, gazing at it critically with his chin resting in his hand. He was wearing baggy, loose clothing stained with multicolored paint splotches.

As I walked closer to him, he turned and waved. "Hello!" he called. He gave the kind of friendly smile I'd rarely seen: closing his eyes and opening up his mouth like a little kid. I noticed that his hair, which was just brown from a distance, was made up of individual strands that were every color of the rainbow, seemingly randomly distributed all over. It was either the most impressively intricate dye job I'd ever seen, or he was some kind of genetic marvel.

He noticed me staring. "Heh! It's natural, believe it or not. Had it all my life."

"I've never met anyone else with..." I began, and then realized my statement could be taken as an insult. "I mean... it looks really cool."

He tilted his head and regarded me, still with genuine-looking warmth on his face. "You're really pretty, you know?"

"Oh!" I sputtered, blushing for the umpteenth time that day. "Thanks."

"I mean it! I'd love to paint you!" He reached forward and we shook hands. "I'm Morgan Lee, I'm a painter. Um..." he blushed slightly... "the 'Ultimate Painter' according to the university recruitment people."

"I'm Saya Wild," I greeted. Ultimate Chess Grandmaster."

Morgan whistled low. "Wow, that's so impressive! Are you really a grandmaster, even so young?"

I nodded, feeling quite embarrassed. "I mean. There's a four year-old in Taiwan with a better record than me."

"Oh, come on, here I am talking to a super-genius and she's being all humble." Morgan shook his head, smiling. "I'm kind of envious. Sometimes, I wish my talent was something measurable, you know? Less subjective. Some people think I'm a terrible painter."

"Really?"

He waved his hand dismissively. "Oh, just typical starving artist stuff. But the people at this school believe in me, and I'm focusing on that right now."

* * *

 _NAME: Morgan Lee (ThatOneFireEmblemFan)  
TALENT: Utimate Painter_

 _:::::::_

 _Q: If your life was a story, what would be the genre?_  
 _ML: Oh. I never really think in terms of story. Mostly image._  
 _Q: That's fine, just answer the question as best you can._  
 _ML: All right. Um, I guess my life is Expressionist. Or Fauvist. Real, but there's something missing that makes it not real at all. Colorful. Violent._ [laughs] _I'm sorry, I'm not sure why I said that._

* * *

I nodded; he was bringing up an uncomfortable point. Of all the chess grandmasters out there, they chose me. Can I really complain about robot bears and ether rags? "What about... if we were kidnapped? I think we might be trapped here."

Morgan shrugged. "You can't just do normal things with extraordinary students, right?"

I frowned. "I guess."

He gave a thumbs up, friendly smile still splashed across his face. "Come on, we have to trust the university, right? They're gonna teach us how to excel at our talents."

I couldn't bring myself to explicitly agree or disagree, so I just shrugged. "I'm exploring and trying to meet everyone. Want to come with me?"

"Nah," Morgan replied, turning back to the monolith. "I'm going to try to figure this out. Find the beauty in it."

I grimaced at the hideous statue. "It would take a genius artist to be able to find the beauty in that thing."

He looked back, grinning. "It's nice to be appreciated. See you later!"

Feeling better about my classmates, I waved goodbye and walked to the building directly across the quad from the student union.

 **GYM: ENTRANCE**

I found myself in a clean, calm reception area for what appeared to be a work-out gym. It was nice to find a place I'd be able to get some running in, even trapped on campus, but the whole place felt eerie when it was completely deserted.

I heard voices coming from a nearby room, so I hesitantly stepped towards it and went inside.

 **GYM: WORKOUT ROOM 1**

The room was large and almost completely empty. There were a row of rolled-up yoga mats along one wall and a large, blank television screen on another wall. Standing in the middle of the room were two young women.

The first woman looked about as embarrassed as anyone I've ever seen. She was pale, with dirty-blonde hair pulled into a ponytail and large, round glasses on her face. She wore a black T-shirt with the NASA logo on it and navy blue leggings, and on top of them she wore a spattered lab coat that looked far too big for her, hiding most of her body from view.

Leaning in close to her, smirking oddly, was a girl with odd, ice-blue, almost silver hair. It hung all the way down to her waist in two long, shiny tails. She wore a dark-green top with a lime-green skirt and ludicrously tall stiletto boots. Unfortunately, she did not have on a large lab coat, and she seemed happy to show off her toned legs and arms and her kind of stupidly enormous breasts.

Twin-tail girl noticed my arrival and straightened up, casting a sly look in my direction. "Oh, my my," she remarked and then said nothing else.

Glasses-girl seized the opportunity, though. She strode towards me, casting a nervous glance back as she did so. "Hello!" she greeted, her posh, English accent quavering slightly. "I'm Emily! This is Katy. She's very nice, but..." She paused. "...Yes."

The other girl... Katy, apparently... just reached her hand out languidly. "As I was about to say, my dear, the last thing I'd want is to make anyone feel uncomfortable. I sometimes have a hard time keeping my poise around beautiful ladies, but I will never direct myself towards anyone who wishes me to stop."

Emily had literally positioned herself so I was between her and Katy. "Yes. Um. Please don't do that? Direct yourself at me, I mean. Please understand, you're just lovely, but I don't... you know?"

Katy sighed. "Of course. It's a terrible shame, but I understand. Platonic friends, perhaps?"

Emily took a half-step out from behind me. "Y...yes. If that's all right."

Katy smiled warmly at Emily. "Of course it is! I look forward to being friends!" She then shifted her gaze to me, and her smile got much, much hungrier. "And who might you be, dear heart?"

"I'm Saya I'm straight!" I yipped, practically involuntarily.

Katy pressed the back of her hand to her forehead and swooned dramatically. "Ohhh," she wailed, eliciting a giggle from Emily and almost from me. "Such is my tragedy! To be surrounded by beautiful, untouchable girls! How will I survivvvveeeeeee?" Her speech ended with a silly, protracted groan, finally pushing me over the edge. I chuckled.

Katy grinned at us both. "Friends?"

We both nodded at her, the energy in the room now completely copacetic. "I'm Saya Wild, the Ultimate Chess Grandmaster," I greeted. "Are you students here, too?"

"Yep!" Emily answered cheerfully. "I'm Emily. Voss. Emily Voss, I mean. The, um. Ultimate Astronomer. That still feels so odd to say!"

* * *

 _NAME: Emily Voss (TheRealKatsuma990)_  
 _TALENT: Ultimate Astronomer_

 _:::::::_

 _Q: If your life was a story, what would its genre be?_  
 _EV: Oh goodness, what indeed? Just a normal one, I suppose. Nothing grand._ [laughs] _That doesn't sound like a story anyone would want to read. Um, so I'll just make something up: a space opera, with lasers and aliens and a beautiful princess trying to reach her home planet before it explodes!_ [laughs] _I'm sorry to be so silly._

* * *

"I'm Katy Thorson, the Ultimate Lesbian Romance Author." Katy even posed a little as she announced this. "That doesn't feel weird for me to say at ALL."

I blushed. "Lesbian... romance?"

"Oh yes!" Katy replied nodding vigorously. "Lesbian romance is an important genre! I'll fill you in, sometime."

* * *

 _NAME: Katy Thorson (dashunterman)_  
 _TALENT: Ultimate Lesbian Romance Author_

 _:::::::_

 _Q: If your life was a story, what would be the genre?_  
 _KT: Romance! Tragic romance. But less tragedy as it goes on._  
 _Q: But always some tragedy?_  
 _KT: Well, it's not really romance if it doesn't have any tragedy, right?_

* * *

Emily clasped her hands in front of her chest. "My word! I can't believe how diverse the talents here, are! I'm simply pathetic at chess, and I can't write, either."

"Says the prodigy scientist!" Katy exclaimed. "I took one astronomy class once, and I immediately dropped it! I couldn't handle the math."

Emily blushed, looking up at us sincerely and pushing her glasses up her nose. "Oh, but the math is the beautiful part! When your models fit your observations, you have no idea..." She trailed off, suddenly realizing her enthusiasm. "I'm sorry! I get excited talking about my mathematical models."

Oh my lord, I almost could not handle how adorable this girl was. "Chess is math, too," I said, trying to at least slightly change the subject. "But it's all intuition... I have a hard time being methodical about things."

"I'm completely intuition!" Katy announced, grinning. "Whew, I was worried after, you know, being kidnapped and everything. But with classmates like you, I think this is going to be a wonderful learning experience."

And then, as if on cue, static crackled from hidden speakers and a voice I recognized as Monokuma's filled the room: "Attention all incoming students! Please gather in the lecture hall for the first class of the semester! We will begin in five minutes! Any students who are tardy will be severely punished!"

Emily reflexively glanced at her wrist, then blushed when she saw it was blank. "Oh, right," she said. "I had a smart watch, but when I woke up, it was gone."

"So was my phone," I mused. "Did they take them...?"

"Students are not allowed phones, tables, or smart watches on campus!" Monokuma's voice boomed.

We glanced at each other. "Um," I said, "Can he..."

"Students are monitored at all times!" Monokuma barked.

I glanced up at the cameras, scattered across the ceiling of this room, like all the others I'd been in. "Marco," I called.

"Polo!" Monokuma's voice answered.

The three of us eyed one another uncomfortably.

* * *

 _Fact 9: There are four buildings surrounding a large, grassy quad. There is a large, eerie monolith in the center of the quad. All exits to the quad appear to be fenced off._

 _Fact 10: One of the buildings is a student union, and another is a gym._

 _Fact 11: The student union contains a cafeteria and store. The store has a very wide variety of items for sale._

 _Fact 12: Someone defaced the outside of the dorm with an anti-Monokuma message, just like the inside of my room._

 _Fact 13: Monokuma can apparently hear and see everything we're doing. It's still not clear if he's being controlled remotely or if he's an A.I._

 **STUDENTS MET SO FAR:**

 _-Barrett Wood, Ultimate Demolitionist_  
 _- **Rook**_  
 _-Punkish, angry_  
 _-Physically violent and aggressive_

 _-DJ Rocky K, Ultimate House Music Producer_  
 _- **Bishop**_  
 _-Apparently has an anger problem, but he calms down when he listens to his music_  
 _-Is pretty easy-going about this whole situation_  
 _-Seems nice_

 _-Nicole Archina, Ultimate Fashon Designer_  
 _- **Knight**_  
 _-Friendly, but... let's say 'distractable'_  
 _-Doesn't like my clothes_  
 _-Her clothes are great_

 _-Morgan Lee, Ultimate Painter_  
 _- **Pawn**_  
 _-Sweet guy_  
 _-Underappreciated as an artist, until he was recruited here_  
 _-Has faith and trust in the university_  
 _-Has no idea how handsome he is; maybe kind of an accidental playboy_

 _-Katy Thorson, Ultimate Lesbian Romance Author_  
 _- **Rook**_  
 _-Hardcore flirty, but kinda... 'performy'_  
 _-Seems really cool when not in her romance mode_  
 _-Super pretty, but has her hair done up like Sailor Moon for some reason_

 _-Emily Voss, Ultimate Astronomer_  
 _- **Pawn**_  
 _-omg just so damn cute_  
 _-She's all british and nerdy aaa_  
 _-Straight. Me too._  
 _-A little insecure, but obviously really smart_

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTES**

 **To clear up any confusion, the chess pieces assigned to each character are not meant to indicate their role in the game, but rather Saya's categorization of their personalities using something she understands.**

 **Hey, who do you think the mastermind is? Have the clues I've dropped been too blatant?**


	7. Economics of Labor I: Part A

**GENERAL EDUCATION BUILDING: AUDITORIUM**

The main classroom was easy for us to find: the building's entrance area consisted only of a small staircase on our right and a large hallway leading to big, intimidating doors. After walking through the doors, we found ourselves at the side of an auditorium filled with at least a hundred seats.

The entrance was in about the middle of the room, with seats arrayed to our right and left. To our right, the room sloped upwards, ending in a door to what appeared to be a projection room. To our left, it sloped downward until it leveled off in a lecture area, with a table, a computer, and a large, white screen hanging down against the wall.

Rocky sat near the back of the room, wearing his headphones and looking oblivious to the world. Therion sat a few seats away, staring straight ahead. I noticed Morgan sitting near the front, but Morgan sat next to him, ranting about something angrily, so I decided it was best to avoid that area. I led Katy and Emily to a cluster of seats near the middle of the room and sat; Emily and I next to each other, with Katy a row behind.

The seats were cushy and new, but their comfort actually felt kind of eerie somehow, like it was incongruous with the energy in the room.

Emily noticed, too. "My word, what a strange feeling," she said, shivering slightly. "I feel... alone, somehow. Or exposed? Something."

Katy was about to reply, but at that moment, Juliet walked in, and that occupied Katy's attention pretty fully. Juliet was flanked by JP, Earl, and Jane, who all looked pretty unhappy about one another. Juliet, totally oblivious about any potential tension, waved to me cheerfully and led her little group to some seats near the front.

"Who is that?" Katy breathed, her eyes practically popping out of her skull.

"Juliet. Um, I kind of think she's a longshot for you. She seems pretty traditional."

"You miss a hundred percent of the shots you don't take, my dear," Katy said, a dreamy smile settling on her face. "Introduce me after class, okay?"

Emily scrunched up her forehead in thought. "Actually, you miss zero percent of the shots you don't take, right? You can't miss a shot that doesn't exist."

Katy squinted at her. "Every shot that doesn't exist is a miss."

"No!" Emily actually seemed kind of legit bothered about this. "That would mean everyone is missing shots all the time they're not shooting. There's an infinite possible shots, but we don't infinitely miss."

Katy glanced at me, then back at Emily. "The point is just that you can't succeed if you don't try."

"Oh." Emily tilted her head slightly. "Well, you could by accident, though, right...?"

"Romance isn't logical, Emily!"

Very luckily, I heard a friendly greeting, and I looked up to see that Lucina, Bepi, and Rodrigo were standing in the aisle waving to me. I beckoned them over.

Rodrigo sat next to me, hesitantly tapping the cushion with his foot before doing so. When he settled in the seat, though, he grinned. "What wonderous ducks you must have here to produce such soft down!" he exclaimed.

Katy jumped to her feet, took Lucina's hand, and led her over to sit next to her. I tried to ignore that and focused instead on introducing everyone who hadn't met one another.

The seats had desks attached that you could pull up and set in front of you, so Lucina set hers up, placed her notebook on it, and wrote me a message: What did you find out?

I explained everything I had encountered, especially describing the graffiti, which it turned out no one else had seen. While I was doing that, Nicole walked in and, surprisingly, sat down next to Therion.

As soon as she sat, a deafening burst of feedback blared from a hidden speaker, and Monokuma literally fell down from the ceiling and landed in the middle of the table at the front of the class.

He rubbed his behind (why would he mimic experiencing pain? I vaguely wondered) and then scrambled to his feet. "Attention, students!" he shouted. "Class will now begin!"

There was some scattered chatter from the room, but a shrill voice shrieked from the front row, "The instructor is speaking! Give him your full attention!" I noticed a beret barely sticking up from a seat; Ashley had been here the whole time and I hadn't noticed.

Monokuma put his hands on his hips, annoyed. "You are grown-ups now, and so it's your choice to pay attention or to goof off and suffer the consequences," he snapped. "But I'm afraid that this introductory session is an exception. So all of you suckers listen to me and shut up!" He leaned forward, scowling. "I said, listen to me!"

I glanced around; most students were staring at him in bafflement. But in the back row, Rocky had on his headphones and was just nodding his head to some beat.

Monokuma climbed down off the table and scurried halfway up the aisle. "Listen to me!" he repeated. Rocky just stared off into the distance, bopping his head.

That was when Monokuma pulled out a shotgun, aimed it at Rocky's chest, and fired.

The moments after the deafening blast felt like they were in slow motion. Horrible ringing in my ears could not completely block the groaning and grunting that came from Rocky as he clutched his chest, doubled over in his seat. No one else moved but Bepi, who shot to his feet, and Rodrigo, who was still frozen in his seat but whose body tensed like a large cat about to pounce.

"Do I have your attention now?!" Monokuma shouted. He spun to glare grinningly at the rest of us. "Oh, I'm sorry, should I have provided a trigger warning?" His voice dripped with vicious sarcasm. "Well, warning: You might get shot with a gun after I pull the trigger on it."

Rocky still twitched in his seat. "Huugggnnnnghhh," he groaned. "NnggggggodDAMMIT, dude, that HURT!" He rubbed his chest tenderly.

Monokuma rested the shotgun barrel against his shoulder and strolled back down the aisle to the front. "Huh, it was a beanbag round this time," he mused. "You never know with me. I'm kooky like that."

He reached the front and jumped up on the table. "Now, listen up! You're all here for the School of Ultimates program, right?"

"Right!" Ashley answered.

"Well, it's an accelerated program for exceptional students," Monokuma continued. "But the thing we haven't told you yet is that exactly _how_ accelerated depends on you. You could graduate today, or you could graduate in ten years. It depends."

"What the hell does that mean?" JP called out. "How do we graduate?"

"Pu hu hu hu!" There was that awful laugh again. "You only have one class, here. Once you pass it, you graduate. And the class is... The Killing Game."

Barrett stood up, apparently unbothered by the shotgun pointed at him. "What the fuck you talking about?"

"Everybody look to your left," Monokuma replied. "Now, look to your right. Statistically speaking, both of the people you were looking at will be gone by the time this program ends. Only a small number of students make it to the end of The Killing Game. Sometimes, it's only one."

The ringing in my ears and my pounding heart were all I could focus on, but there was suddenly pandemonium; I heard shouts from what sounded like Barrett, Jane, and Nicole. Katy huddled onto Lucina in fear, Emily was crying, Rodrigo mumbled a prayer.

Six quick shotgun blasts silenced the room. Monokuma stood there, pointing the gun straight up, as pieces of ceiling tile and security camera rained down on him. "I know how you spoiled brats were raised. Everyone gets a trophy, right? Well, this is the real world, and in the real world, you don't get to hide away from ideas just because you don't like them! You wont limit my free speech by deplatforming a poor bear who just wants you to kill your friends!"

Even Barrett looked too shocked to act. Monokuma giggled again. "The Killing Game is very simple. Anyone who murders a classmate becomes eligible to graduate. After an investigation period, we will have a class trial where you will discuss the murder. At the end of the trial, you will all vote for who you think the killer is. If a majority of you is correct, the killer will be executed. But otherwise... the killer graduates and all other students are executed."

Emily looked like she couldn't breathe. I put my hand on her shoulder and she gripped my arm tightly.

"...Murder?" Juliet croaked.

"Murder! That's right, there are no safe spaces here at New Hope University! By which I mean there are literally no spaces where you will be safe, because everyone's going to be trying to kill you!"

"Wait," Barrett grunted. "So... this is Saw? We're in fucking Saw?"

"No!" Monokuma shrieked, waving his arms around. "This is very different from Saw!"

"Fuckin' sounds like Saw to me."

"It's not..."

"Excuse me." A clear, confident voice spoke up from the back of the classroom. I turned to see Therion, looking forward with interest. "How long does this go on?"

"As long as it takes! Well... actually, a killing game gets kind of silly with only three or four students left, so when we get to that point, we just make you write a big paper, or something."

Therion frowned. "Your rules are ambiguous. What counts as murder?"

Monokuma shook his head. "We'll cross these bridges when we come to them."

Therion blinked. "No, not reasonable. Have to know, or we can't plan."

Somehow, this was the most frightening thing I'd heard yet. His calmness, while saying he might make plans to...

"Murder is murder!" Monokuma shouted. "Don't make this all complicated."

"He's right," Ashley agreed. "What about accidents? Are you operating under the principles of mens rea? What about self defense?"

"Only intentional murders allow you to graduate!" Monokuma answered. "Accidents and suicides are the fault of the victim. But there will still be a trial and you'll still have to guess right! Self-defense is decided on a case-by-case basis."

"What if attack is intentional, but didn't want to cause death?" Therion asked. "Or..."

"Look, I'll work with you," Monokuma promised. "I want you to graduate! It's my job to turn children into productive adults, after all!" He jumped down and picked up a cardboard box on the floor and flung it up into the air, sending the contents spread out all over the room.

Somehow, a black tablet landed directly in my lap. I looked closer and saw it had my name on it.

"These are your personal Kumaputors! They have all the basic information you need. Don't lose them!"

There was a pause as some of us looked at our tablets and some of us just sat in shocked silence.

"What if I get someone else to kill a third person?" Ashley asked. "Am I the murderer, or is it the person who pulled the trigger?"

Monokuma stomped his foot. "The one who pulled the trigger. As long as they did it on purpose. I'm leaving before you ask me any more dumb questions!" And he jumped up in the air impossibly high and disappeared back into the ceiling.

I sat there numbly for I don't know how long. Various classmates were yelling at one another, but I couldn't bring myself to listen. I just stared at the blank tablet screen in my lap and tried to will myself into another reality.

I found myself picturing chess board layouts that were stalemates. One after another after another. They flashed in the reflections on the blank screen.

That could be us, right? Living in stalemate forever?

A felt a soft hand on my shoulder and I jumped in surprise. Lucina looked down at me, sadly. I glanced around, and most of the others had left during my reverie. Only Katy, Lucina, and Morgan were left.

"Oh..." I shook my head. "I kind of... zoned out." My voice was rough, like I hadn't spoken for weeks. "What happened?"

Lucina handed me a note: _Juliet made everyone promise not to play the game. Even A and T. Some were very upset; RD and EM took them back to the dorm._

I nodded, grateful that some of my classmates were the leaders I couldn't be. "Are we all going to die?"

"No!" Katy barked, but Lucina didn't look so sure.

Morgan coughed. "Um, another thing? I found something." He held up his tablet. "Look at the school rules, under the main menu. See number 11?"

I turned on my tablet and poked around until I found the general rules. Most were either mundane or horrible killing game rules Monokuma had already said, but number 11... "Any student who successfully escapes from campus will be withdrawn from all classes and no longer considered a student of New Hope University."

We all looked at one another. "We can escape...?" I whispered.

"The rule wouldn't exist if we couldn't, right?" Katy answered.

I nodded, feeling determination tingle through my body. "Okay. We have a goal now."

 **DORM: UPSTAIRS HALLWAY**

I decided that I needed time by myself after everything, so I excused myself to go to my suite for a nap. As I stepped off the elevator, I suddenly realized I did not know exactly which door was mine, and I worried I wouldn't know how to get back. But I glanced and saw names written on the doors as I passed them: Therion Suarez, Giuseppe Perfetto, Ashley Coelho...

I rounded the corner, approaching the general area my suite was. I hesitated when I saw Jane standing in front of me, staring at a door and frowning. She glanced at me and harumphed.

I felt awkward as I neared her; she just stared at a door, which I realized was her own. She was next-door to me, actually. I nodded to her and tried to smile in a friendly way, but her haughty expression made me wither.

But after a moment, she relaxed; it looked like it took a huge amount of effort. "Saya," she greeted. "Be a dear and help me with a brief experiment, would you?"

I raised an eyebrow. "Okay?"

"Thank you. Would you try to open the door to your own suite?"

Puzzled, I walked out and grasped the handle to my door. Immediately, a small green light blinked, and I found myself able to turn the handle and push the door inwards.

"All right, thank you," Jane said. "Now, could you try to open my door?"

I grabbed the handle to her room. A red light blinked on, and the door was immovable.

Jane nodded. "All right, final test. Open your door, but don't let your skin touch the handle. Use your sweater."

I was curious, too. Careful not to stretch it out, I placed my hand inside my sweater and grasped the door handle through it. Nothing happened, and the door remained locked.

Jane frowned. "As I thought. The key to your room is your own DNA. Absolutely mad technology." She attempted a friendly smile. "All right, we're done. Thank you."

I looked at her, standing in the middle of the hallway, pointedly not going into her room. I glanced at the long gloves covering her arms, then back up at her face. "We're done," she said again. "Thank you."

Was she so embarrassed about taking off her gloves that she wouldn't go into her room until I left? It wasn't my business, but I suddenly felt very sad for her, still desperately trying to maintain her haughty demeanor in such a position.

I wanted to try something. I pointedly walked to my door, maintaining eye contact with Jane. I pulled up my sleeve and poked my bare elbow against the handle. When the light turned green, I grabbed the handle and opened the door. Nodding goodbye to Jane, I stepped into my suite.

 **DORM: SAYA'S ROOM**

The first thing I noticed was that the message on the wall had already been spackled over. I turned on my tablet and saw that it was still technically morning; I felt like it had been months and months since I had woken up here.

I collapsed into my bed. I wanted nothing to be real.

Would there really be murders? I really liked some of the people I'd met. I could feel myself starting to become friends with them. Was it possible that one of them could try to kill me? Would Morgan or Bepi or Lucida...

My tablet beeped. Groaning, I reached over and turned it on; a grinning Monokuma-face appeared next to a text box. It read: _MONOMAIL! Class will be held daily at 10:30 am in the main auditorium! There will be no tests, and you are not required to attend. I'm not your nanny!_

I tossed my tablet aside. More nonsense, more torture.

I closed my eyes and remembered, move-for-move, the game I'd had a few months before with the four year-old Taiwanese boy. I had won. I tried to calculate the ways he could have beaten me. Pieces flashed on the board like numbers in a matrix, fainter and fainter and fainter.

* * *

The next thing I knew, there was a pounding on the door. I blearily rolled over, grunting, and crankily forced myself onto my feet. I walked to the door, mumbling.

I reached out to open it, and something made me stop. I pulled back my hand. "Who's there?" I called.

A slightly amused man's voice replied. "Giuseppi."

I found myself smiling. "Giuseppi who?"

There was a pause, then: "Please Giuseppi my apology."

I opened the door. Bepi stood there, grinning. Juliet and Rodrigo were with him, looking baffled by our exchange. "We wanted to check out the cafeteria for dinner," Bepi said. "Try to make this all feel as normal as possible. Come?"

I nodded, suddenly realizing I was starving. I stepped out of my room and we started walking to the elevators.

 **STUDENT STORES: CAFETERIA**

Once we had stepped into the building, thee aroma of cooking food greeted us. As we entered the cafeteria, I saw that the panels in the wall were open and delicious-looking food sat there, waiting for us. But even more than that, I noticed Earl Morale literally standing on a table in the middle of the room, shouting boisterously.

"Friends and allies!" His voice boomed like an explosion. "We can't simply sit and argue like nattering children! We must find the leaders of this corrupt institution and seize control!" All the other students stood around him with various degrees of skepticism (the only one I didn't see was Ashley, but whether that was because of her absence or just being lost in the crowd, I couldn't tell).

"Speak for yourself!" Rocky argued. "Motherfucker's got shotguns!"

Nicole grimaced. "I touched one of the fences, and a flame thrower popped up and pointed at me, like Robocop! Wherever the people planning this are, they're probably protected."

"I would never claim some of us won't be incinerated," Earl said. "In war, there are always come casualties. But if we harness our strength, we can be the victors!"

"You don't know that," Emily fretted. "We don't even know where to go or what to do. Whoever's running this might be a thousand miles away!"

"This is bullshit," Barrett grumbled. "I want this place burned to the ground, but I'm not following some military fucker to do it!"

Earl looked to Bepi and Rodrigo for help. "My comrades-in-arms, stand with me! We must find the head of the snake and cut it off!"

Rodrigo looked baffled, but he shook his head. "This world is strange and unknowable to me. I will protect those around me at all costs, but I cannot aggress against an enemy I do not understand."

Bepi just shrugged. "I agree with Tank Guy, but I don't like throwing untrained civilians in the middle of a fight."

"Yeeah, man," JP agreed. "I took tae kwon do when I was a kid, but I can't fight robocop flame throwers."

I was feeling overwhelmed. I took a step forward and called out, "Hey!" ignoring the heat in my face and neck a everyone turned to look at me. "Um. This fighting isn't doing any good. Can we take a step back, here?" Encouraged by their continued silence, the volume of my voice increased. "From what I can tell, we have three options. Right? We can try to find the people running this..."

"Decapitate the snake!" Earl shouted.

"...yes." I nodded to him as diplomatically as I could. "We could do that, we could try to escape, or we could... actually participate in this killing game." I looked around at everyone's serious faces. "And... and we all agree to not play the game, right?"

Some people nodded and some people glanced at Therion, who had been coolly watching from the sidelines. He tilted his head slightly. "I didn't want to know the rules to play the game," he explained. "Wanted to know the rules so I could _break_ the game."

Juliet looked around hopefully. "So... so officially, we all agree?"

"Fuck you," Barrett spat. "I don't promise a thing. But I ain't stupid, either. I'll save my explosives for the fuckers running this place."

I figured that was as good as we were going to get, with him. "What about Ashley?" Katy asked.

"What about me?!"

I turned to see Ashley standing in the doorway, glaring crankily at us all. She stormed towards the food and grabbed a single banana, which she peeled and began eating with tiny bites.

"We're talking about the killing game," Nicole clarified.

Ashley glared. "I have big plans after school," she snapped. "I'm not going to let any of you slow me down. I came here to excel, and if you didn't come here to do the same thing, then you might as well just get killed." She dropped her banana, half-eaten, into a garbage can, then turned back to us. "But. The rules clearly state escape is an option, I can't win if I'm the only one playing, and I can't intern in Congressman Hart's office like I plan if I'm still stuck in here next summer." She scrambled up a chair and then a table to stand next to Earl. "So let's work together!"

Bizarrely, I felt pretty encouraged by all that. "We still haven't agreed if we want to go after the masterminds or try to escape," I said. "But I don't think it matters at this point, right? Either way, the first step is to fully explore the area, make as complete a map as we can, and document what we have at our disposal."

"Indeed!" Earl enthused. He clapped Ashley on the back, nearly sending her hurtling to the floor. "Coelho and I are the leaders! Wild is the strategist! We can't possibly be defeated!"

"This is bollocks," Barrett grunted.

"I have a suggestion," Bepi spoke up. "Some of us may... work best independently. But given the circumstances, it's important to take steps to keep everyone honest." He glanced around. "If there is a killing, the more time that passes, the harder it will be to determine the culprit."

"Stop talking about killings," Katy protested. "No one's going to kill anyone!"

Bepi just looked at her, then he swept his gaze back around the room. "Nonetheless. I suggest that twice a day, we all meet in the same place. If someone doesn't come, we'll know something is wrong. I suggest breakfast and dinner, because we have a reason to be here, anyway. Say, 9:30 and 6:30?"

"Fuck that!" That was Barrett, of course. "I'm not eating when you say!"

"That's a poor decision," Ashley squeaked. "Think about it. If you come to the meals, then you can just leave when you want. But if you don't, then every single morning and evening, we'll have to come find you. Consider which would be more annoying."

Barrett narrowed his eyes at her, then just threw his hands up in the air and stomped over to the food. He grabbed a plate of french fries, shoved a handful into his mouth, and stormed out of the room.

"...Was that a yes or a no?" Jane asked.

"Clearly, it was a yes!" Earl enthused. "No one can argue with my lovely co-leader! That's why I chose her!"

Ashley looked, maybe for the first time in her life, speechless. Her blush somehow seemed larger than her entire body.

"Hey, can we eat, already?" Nicole asked.

"Excellent idea!" Oblivious to his co-leader's state, Earl hopped off the table and strode over to the food. "I insist that we _eat dinner_!"

* * *

We all sat, scattered around the cafeteria, enjoying our admittedly delicious dinner. Somehow, I ended up sitting with Therion and Rocky. I had thought to bring them out of their shells a little, but I had drastically overestimated their desire to speak.

Still, I tried. "Um. So, Rocky, you told me you were from New York. Where are you from, Therion?"

Therion did not look up from his food. "San Juan."

"Oh!" I smiled as warmly as I could. "I'm from Miami, so I went to school with several people from San Juan."

"That's plausible," Therion replied. "I believe you."

There was an awkward pause. "How did you get into game design?" I asked.

Therion stared at my face, as if looking for some sort of trick. Finally, he just said, "Used to get angry. Big problem. Fights." He glanced to the side, poking at his food idly. "Loved games. Discovered that thinking about the rules of games kept anger away. Do it all the time, now."

Rocky laughed. "Dude, I'm the same way! Tiniest little thing sets me off. But I'm the opposite; if I start thinking, it makes everything worse. I need some beats to drown out my thoughts."

Therion blinked languidly in what I later realized was an expression of surprise. "Not too different, actually. Rhythm is a structure. Games are structure, too."

I leaned forward. "I've always wondered this. What _is_ a game? Why is chess a game but... but say making music isn't?"

"No good definition," Therion replied. "Boring question anyway. Games are games. More interesting is what makes a _fun_ game. Fun games need limitations to avoid chaos and pointlessness, but no limitations that frustrate." He tilted his head at me. "If every chess piece could move to every square, that's stupid. No game. But if player can only ever make a single move, it's annoying. No one will play."

"That _is_ like music!" Rocky exclaimed. "I mean, kinda. A good house song... it's about bringing in all the layers, one at a time, and then putting them together so the listener's like 'whoa, it makes sense!' But you gotta mix it up, too, because if you're too rigid, you can't surprise anyone."

Therion nodded. "Think this game... this bear game. It's a bad game. Too open-ended. A house song that wouldn't make sense."

Rocky grinned. "Hey, like what I said!" He clapped Therion on the back, which clearly did not go over well, though Therion tried his best to hide it.

I, meanwhile, had no reason to hide my smile. These two hadn't made great first impressions, but I was feeling much better about having them around. "I'm still curious, even though you say it's a boring question. What's the most basic game? Like, what's the most stripped-down thing that is still a game?"

Therion opened his mouth to reply, but a series of beeps sounded throughout the room. I glanced down at my tablet.

"Hey!" a voice screeched from across the room. "Did you get my email?"

I jumped to my feet. Monokuma was there, standing on the dessert table, staring at us. "Your kumaputors beep when you get a monomail!"

"I don't think any of us are going to ever say either of those words," Jane remarked.

"Quiet!" Monokuma snapped. "This is why we have to do this! Your generation never learned respect! So that's why this is your official announcement about your chores this week!"

I pulled out my tablet and looked at the email. _MONOMAIL! Your assignment this week is:_ _mowing the central quad. Failure to complete chores without a recognized excuse will result in horrifying torture!_

"What the hell is this?" JP moaned in despair.

"In my day, we had chores," Monokuma snapped. "We didn't just face-gram on our phones all day! So you're going to do your part to keep the campus clean! We'll rotate every week, and maybe by the end of the year, you'll all have built some character. Or be dead."

Ashley's trembling hand rose. "Dean Monokuma, this says I need to wash the windows, but I couldn't possibly reach all of them. What can I do?"

Monokuma danced over to her and patted her on the head. "Oh, don't worry, my dear student. I'll meet with you individually tomorrow to show you where to find your supplies."

Therion raised his hand. "Killing game question. What happens if two people get murdered at the same time? Or if someone gets murdered during an investigation? Do we have to catch the first murderer or the second murderer?"

"Murder is first-come, first-served! The second murder doesn't count."

"Wait." Therion just stared. "That means, right after someone is murdered, new murders are free. Someone could just shoot me right in front of everyone, and no punishment."

Monokuma nodded. "Do I look like the sort of bear who has a problem with free murder?"

"Oh." Jane looked at him coolly, clasping her arms across her stomach. "What if, say, I stab someone, and then someone else stabs that same person, and then the victim bleeds to death. Who's the killer?"

Monokuma glared as well as he could with his teddy-bear eyes. "Whoever's attack drew more blood. Stop asking questions!" He did a little pirouette and posed angrily. "Ha-cha! Goodight! Remember, class tomorrow is at 10:30! The topic this term will be World History and also Potential Ways to Escape from Campus!"

"Wait, what...?" JP cried, but the bear was already gone.

We all looked around at each other, open-mouthed. "Potential ways to escape?" Emily murmured.

I knew what they said about things too good to be true. But at that moment, anything good was welcome.

 **STUDENT STORES: ENTRANCE**

As I walked out of the hallway, Morgan ran up to me, waving. "Hey!" he said. "Help me check something out, okay?"

I blinked. "Um, sure."

He led me to a door under the nearby stairicase. He pushed it open to reveal a small hallway with just a water fountain and a large set of elevator doors. There was only one button next to the elevator; an arrow pointed down.

Morgan walked to the button and pushed it. The doors lurched open revealing a large, rather dirty elevator car.

"I found this before dinner," Morgan explained as we got on and began to descend. "Where do you think it might go?"

I shrugged. "Monokuma mentioned equipment for our chores. Maybe this is where it's stored?" I almost found myself believing this could be some secret way out, but I knew it couldn't possibly be so easy.

 **UNDERGROUND PASSAGE: STUDENT STORES ENTRANCE**

The doors opened to reveal a dank, underlit hallway leading straight ahead. We stepped off and I felt an inadvertent shiver. The walls were rusty metal, and the floor just stained concrete. Dripping could be heard from somewhere, and ahead of us, lights flickered on and off, buzzing.

"Kinda spooky down here," I remarked as we set off down the hallway. Morgan just nodded, his multicolored hair swooshing across his forehead.

We walked slowly. I suddenly became aware that I was alone in a dark, secluded place with a very nice and handsome boy who I didn't actually know at all and who had been given reasons to murder me. I glanced at him nervously. "Hey," I began, "you were telling me earlier about the people who recruited us. They believed in you." He nodded tersely. "Um. Well, what do you think now?"

He stopped walking and sighed. "I still feel that way," he said. "I think this... game can't possibly be from the people who run this university."

I thought about that. "Who is it, then?"

"I don't know. Someone who took over. Listen to Monokuma when he talks. He hates us. But the people who recruited us don't feel that way. They love us. They made a whole program for us to learn how to thrive."

I frowned. "You still trust in them?"

"I have to," he said. Then he repeated, "I have to." He looked away for a moment. "The world has a place for everyone. I know it."

Suddenly, he burst out into a coughing fit, deep and horrible. I took a step back in alarm. The fit subsided and he clutched his chest, breathing deeply. Finally, he chuckled. "Sorry. Dusty down here."

We resumed walking, and his gait was easy and calm. Everything seemed fine.

 **UNDERGROUND PASSAGE: JUNCTION**

We got to a 4-way junction, dark hallways spreading out ahead and to the side. The setting was especially unpleasant here: there was a grate in the middle of the floor, rivulets of dirty water oozing toward it. The space was rather large and well-lit, but that just showed off how gross everything looked.

"I'm getting less optimistic this is a way out," I remarked. Morgan nodded grimly. He shrugged and started walking straight ahead; I followed cautiously.

At the end of the hallway, ahead of us, we could see another elevator, very similar to the one we'd come down.

 **GYMNASIUM: WEIGHT ROOM**

The bell dinged cheerily and the doors opened to reveal a modern-looking weight room. "It's nice to be out of the tunnel," I said, "but this is just the gym, isn't it?"

Morgan nodded. "Four hallways, meeting in the middle. That tunnel must run under the quad to connect all four buildings." He sighed. "Sorry, Saya. I thought that was going to be cooler."

I smiled. "No, it was a good discovery! We might need it!" I stretched and felt my shoulder pop slightly. "Now that I'm here, I think I'm going to try to get a run in. Do you want to get a workout, too?"

Morgan blanched. "Uhh... exercise? No thanks. But have fun!" He gave his handsome, childlike smile again. Then he just looked at me and said, "I think I trust you." Without saying anything else, he just walked right out of the room.

I decided not to think about it.

 **GYMNASIUM: CARDIO ROOM**

The gym was a bit of a maze, but it wasn't long before I found a cabinet full of gym clothes and a place to change. I found the treadmills, and I ran.

I ran and ran and ran, and when I was done, I knew I overdid it. I was a sweaty mess, and my muscles felt tired in a way I'd almost never experienced. But it was worth it.

I took a quick shower (soap and shampoo provided, luckily!) and tossed my used clothes and towels into the laundry bin. I felt awful but in kind of a perfect way; no thoughts, just aching.

 **GYMNASIUM: ENTRANCE**

On my way out, I noticed the lights on in the yoga studio where I'd found Katy and Emily. I glanced through the glass door and I saw someone sitting in the middle of the room, legs crossed. They were facing away from me, but the dark-blue and black ponytail showed me who it was.

On an impulse, I lightly knocked on the door and went inside.

 **GYMNASIUM: YOGA STUDIO**

Lucina turned to me in surprise, but her stanced relaxed when she saw it was me. She patted the floor next to her. I tried not to look too closely at her welcoming smile, and I sat down where she indicated.

"Yoga?" I asked.

She shook her head. I noticed she didn't have her notebook with her. She pressed her palms together like a shaolin monk and closed her eyes serenely.

"Meditating?"

She nodded, looking happy I understood.

"I'm sorry to interrupt..." I began, but she shook her head. "Okay." We sat together for a moment.

"I have a hard time meditating," I admitted. "My mind tends to just want to run off on its own. Chess, mostly, but sometimes just numbers or ideas or... whatever. It used to make me really anxious. My parents were really worried about me, you know?" Her expression flickered slightly, and I froze. "Um. Anyway, I started running, and I think I kind of meditate when I'm doing that. I try to work out as much as I can."

She gave me a skeptical look, and I laughed. "Hey, don't give me that." I flexed a pathetic little bicep muscle. "I'm weak, but I have good endurance! I can go all night long, practically!" Her expression flickered again, and I cursed myself. I kept saying these wrong things to this poor, shy girl!

We sat for an awkward moment. I coughed. "I guess I should go," I said stiffly, and then I stood up. "Um. Anyway, good to see you."

She blinked, then nodded. Her face was drawn and serious. She looked lonely.

"There's a chess set in my room," I said, surprising myself. "Do you want to play a game?"

She looked surprised, but quickly nodded with an almost giddy enthusiasm. I helped her up to her feet.

 **DORM: SAYA'S ROOM**

We didn't just play one game of chess; we played many. I tried to go easy on her, but I just couldn't sugarcoat it: the chick was BAD.

Still, she laughed and smiled every time, shaking her fist in mock-fury when I won. She still didn't have her notebook, but she seemed happy to just listen as I yammered about the dynamics of the game and whatever else came to mind. Her eyes sparkled.

Eventually, she yawned, prompting me to beep on my tablet to check the time. "Oh god, it's after midnight!" I exclaimed. "I'm so sorry, I totally lost track of time. I get really excited when I play, see..."

She stood and, as if it was the most normal thing in the world, hugged me. It was short and warm, and then she pulled away and gave me a lopsided grin. Then she pointed at the door, raising an eyebrow.

"Um, yeah," I said. "We should probably get some sleep, right?"

Dazed, I walked her to the door and let her out; we waved goodbye and I numbly closed it behind her. I didn't move for a few seconds. Then, I stiffly changed into my sleeping clothes, turned out the lights, and lay down in bed. I didn't sleep.

She didn't know, I reminded myself. No one knows. Relax. No one knows.

I didn't relax. I'm not sure how long I lay there, but eventually, groaning in frustration, I stood up. I walked to the window, took a deep breath, and rested my forehead against the cool glass. I imagined I'd cry from homesickness on my first night at college, but here I was, dealing with much worse things, and I just felt empty.

I opened my eyes and looked out at the grassy quad spread out below me, shadowy and spooky. I froze. There was movement down there.

I squinted and saw, yes, a small figure standing out alone in the grass doing... something. They were wearing dark blue jeans and some sort of black top, and their movement was jerking and aggressive and quick. Then I noticed that they were leaving something behind as they moved. Dark lines.

They were digging up lines in the quad, I realized. Narrow, long ditches that we'd all be able to see from our rooms. I had no idea if anyone else was awake, but it felt weirdly intimate watching this, like sneaking downstairs to catch Santa coming out of the fireplace.

The person worked ridiculously fast, but it was too dark to see what the letters were. I realized the black top was a hoodie, obscuring their body, face, and head; even if they were closer, I'd never know who they were. But then they dashed off to the side and returned with a large, white object... a bucket, I realized. They poured a thick, white liquid into the ditches, letting it run along and fill it up, rendering the lines visible, a ghostly pearl color reflecting in the electric lights dotting the quad.

It was letters. As the person filled the white liquid through them all, I could read it: **_NHU FEARS US. FIGHT THEM. KILL THE BEAR._**

The figure tossed away the bucket and ran towards the dorm; they moved like an insect, fast and darting and silent. But just as they were about to disappear from view beneath me, mid-stride, they pulled down the hood that was covering their head. For just a brief moment, I saw every color of the rainbow glowing in the electric lights, and then it was gone.

Every color of the rainbow?

"...Morgan?"

* * *

 _Fact 1: killing game_

 _Fact 2: killing game_

 _Fact 3: One of the rules says we can potentially escape from campus, but we don't know how_

 _Fact 4: Each dorm room can only be opened by the owner; apparently this has something to do with DNA_

 _Fact 5: Monokuma is teaching a class every morning for an unknown reason_

 _Fact 6: Earl and Ashley have taken a leadership role. We've all agreed to meet for breakfast and dinner every day_

 _Fact 7: We've all been assigned chores. Mine is mowing the quad._

 _Fact 8: Monokuma's class apparently will give us hints about how to escape?_

 _Fact 9: There's an underground tunnel connecting all four buildings in the quad_

 _Fact 10: Spotted Morgan leaving an anti-NHU message in the middle of the night_


	8. Economics of Labor I: Part B

**DORM: SAYA'S ROOM**

I woke up to the sudden shriek of an alarm. I bolted up, looking around for fire, or smoke, but there was nothing. Monokuma's voice hissed out of hidden speakers, "All students meet in the central quad! Now! Now now now now now!"

I blearily stood and checked the clock; it was a little after 7:00 am. But I was an experienced non-sleeper, and I was able to gather myself enough to walk out into the hallway.

 **DORM: UPSTAIRS HALLWAY**

Jane was sticking her head out of her room, looking as cranky as anyone I've ever seen. JP staggered by like a zombie, and Emily followed, wearing honest-to-god bunny slippers and missing her glasses. She waved sleepily.

Juliet walked out of her room on the other side of mine from Jane's, looking as perfectly done up as if she was going to a dinner party. "What's going on?" she asked.

"Somebody v..." Emily began, but she was interrupted by a huge puppy-yawn. "Excuse me. Somebody vandalized the lawn outside."

"That's what I like to see!" Earl declared, marching by. "Showing dignity and unwaverng strength in the face of evil!"

Jane grumbled something uninterpretable and stepped out into the hallway, too. We unhappily made our way to the closer elevator, which I'd taken to calling the 'East elevator' even though I had no idea of cardinal directions in here.

 **MAIN QUAD**

The whole group made it outside at about the same time. Barrett was notable by his absence, but Monokuma did not seem to care. He stood in the middle of the lawn, hopping up and down in fury. "What took so long!" he barked. "It's been almost a full five minutes!"

"Hey, your stupid elevators take forever, don't blame us," Rocky grunted.

Monokuma just waved his arms around in frustration. "Who did this?! Who did this?!" He kicked his little legs at one of the ditches. I looked closer; it seemed like the white liquid was paint, mostly totally dry by this point.

No one spoke up. I glanced at Morgan as subtly as I could, and he had an expression of innocent confusion on his face.

"Tearing up school property!" Monokuma raged. "You... you children! You agents of the dragon of chaos! I'm surprised you didn't fill up these ditches with avocado toast!"

Rodrigo took a step forward. "I don't know what that is," he said, glaring. "But your vile tyranny must come to an end, and whoever made these words is clearly on the side of truth."

"Admit it now!" Monokuma ranted. "The culprit must admit their crime now!"

As I watched him rage, I shifted my gaze up to the cameras peeking out the eaves of the buildings all around. Wasn't he always watching and listening? How could he possibly not know who did this? And if he knows, why would he pretend he doesn't?

"Fine!" Monokuma stomped his foot. "New assignment! The hallway upstairs must be constantly patrolled at night to catch whoever is committing these terrible crimes!" He put his hands against his temples, as if picking up a psychic impulse. "The students who are assigned to: Vacuuming the pool, cleaning the computer lab, spraying off the whiteboards, and mowing the quad, raise your hands!"

I put my hand up and looked to see JP, Nicole, and Emily doing the same. "Your chores have changed! From the time the sun goes down to when it comes up, at least two of you must be patrolling the dorm hallway! Figure out the schedule yourselves!"

"What?!" JP moaned. "C'mon..."

"Excruciating torture!" Monokuma snapped, then he disappeared.

Jane grunted sleepily and started walking back to the dorms. People started following her, my fellow guards looking rather unhappy about their new assignments. Emily fell in step next to me. "Hi," she said politely. "Should we figure out the schedule for the patrol tonight?" (Lord, she actually pronounced it "shed-jewel.")

I frowned. "Actually, can we do it later?" I asked. "I need to talk to someone real quick."

I trotted ahead next to Morgan and tugged on his T-shirt sleeve. I indicated for him to follow me.

 **DORM: LOUNGE**

I led him into the lounge, which was not any less heavily monitored than any other place on campus, but at least none of the other students were around.

"What's up?" Morgan asked, as friendly as ever.

I gave him a sideways look. "Um. I think I should tell you, I know. I saw you last night."

He blinked, still smiling. "Sorry?"

I leaned forward, whispering pointlessly. "I saw you making that message outside."

He tilted his head slightly. "What are you talking about? I didn't do that."

"Uh." I wondered if he was being sneaky somehow, but there was no sign of it in his expression. "You didn't..."

He interrupted me with a loud cough, then a full coughing fit, horrible and violent. After a few moments, he finished, straightening back up and wiping his mouth with his arm. "I would never write something like that." He just stared. "I love this school."

Something about his look made me take a step backwards. I quickly nodded. "Sorry, right. I must be wrong." I laughed nervously. He kept staring. "Okay, well, I'll see you at breakfast." And I excused myself from the room as fast as possible.

 **STUDENT UNION: CAFETERIA**

When I got to breakfast, the mood was pretty down; people were just sitting and eating without much energy. The only exciting moment was when Barrett made his appearance, pointedly threw a container of yogurt against the wall for no obvious reason, and immediately left. I grabbed my food and sat down with Rodrigo and Katy. Emily came in and joined us a minute later.

Katy glanced at me, then leaned forward slightly. "My dear, are you well?"

I nodded. "Not much sleep, I guess."

Emily gave me a concerned look. I noticed for the first time, through her oversized glasses, that her eyes sparkled oddly... the blue parts were spirals, like she had been hypnotized by a cartoon character. She noticed me staring and quickly looked down.

I blushed, ashamed of my rudeness. "Um, did you get a chance to talk to JP and Nicole about the guard schedule?"

Emily nodded. "We think two shifts makes the most sense, from sundown to 1:00, and then from 1:00 to sunrise. Do you want the first one or the second one?"

I frowned; I was probably going to need a nap today anyway. "I'll go ahead and take the second one."

"Okay, then it'll be you and Nicole tonight. We can switch it around whenever we want." She sighed. "I hope we can finish this soon. Who do you think wrote that in the quad? The Mancunian, right? With the yogurt?"

"Barrett," Katy said. "Total psycho."

"I sense malice from him," Rodrigo intoned, staring into the distance stoically. "But no one is irredeemable in the eyes of God."

He was so sincere, it was hard to argue with him, but I could tell none of us were very confident about that. "Say, Rodrigo," Katy advanced, "how are you adjusting to the modern world?"

"Oh, it's a land of wonders!" he exclaimed. "One can see, even at night!"

I blinked. "Wait, I knew the place you were raised didn't have modern technology, but they didn't even have, like, torches?"

"The monks believed that to upset God's eternal balance of light and darkness was blasphemy, so all flames had to be snuffed by sundown. Once, I stole away to the horse stables with a flint and steel, delighting in the sparks I could create. I received many lashings for that."

"They beat you?!" I asked, appalled. "Just for making sparks?"

"Ay." Rodrigo nodded, a blank look on his face. "The monks were cruel, and their rules were crueler. But even if I had to withstand such viciousness to become a paladin, I always believed God wanted more for us than to suffer." He set his jaw, resolved. "That's why I will mind you, scientists, strategists, and dreamers. I am your hands."

And for a second, I almost felt better.

 **GENERAL EDUCATION BUILDING: FIRST FLOOR HALLWAY**

I decided to show my breakfast-mates the tunnel, so we took that route to the classroom. It was indeed faster than going outside would have been, but it was just so grungy and creepy, I regretted it instantly.

As we stepped off the elevator leading away from the underground tunnel, we saw another long hallway, ending in a flight of stairs. There were three doors leading off the hallway; we checked the first two and saw a large, industrial laundry room filled with washers and dryers, and a storage closet containing cleaning equipment... probably necessary for our chores. It was odd that these would be in the classroom building, but I guess sixteen students wouldn't be needing that many classrooms, anyway.

We checked the final door and saw a large room filled with academic equipment... whiteboards, projectors, textbooks, chairs, tables, notebooks, and so forth. On impulse, I grabbed a notebook to take with me. Maybe Lucina needed a new one?

We climbed the stairs and found a large set of doors. They opened easily, and there was the classroom.

 **GENERAL EDUCATION BUILDING: AUDITORIUM**

We found a place to sit as other students trickled in. Bepi and Lucina sat with us (the latter smiling sweetly in gratitude when I gave her the notebook I'd taken), and Morgan came a minute later, looking totally normal.

We explained the back route to the classroom, and Bepi scratched his chin in thought. "That must be what Ashley uses to get here so fast," he mused. "So... there's two exits to the classroom, the one in the front leads to the tunnel, and the one in the side leads to the way outside."

"What about that?" Emily asked, pointing to the door in the back of the room.

"It just leads to a small projector room," Bepi replied. "I checked it yesterday." He chuckled. "Thanks for humoring me; I like to be aware of all the ways out of any given room I find myself in."

By the time Monokuma appeared and began primly arranging his notes, I took note of my classmates. I didn't see everyone... Rocky, Barrett, Nicole, and Jane were not there.

Monokuma pushed a button and a map of Europe appeared behind him. "Many students come to this class thinking it will be a cakewalk," he droned, as if being deliberately boring. "But the history of the Albanian Revolt of 1847 is full of nuance and detail! We will be addressing every little aspect of this nuance today!"

And thus began the dullest 90 minutes of my life. Monokuma paced back and forth, his squeaky little voice almost turning itself into radio static. I nearly fell asleep twice.

Eventually, he cleared his throat. "...and thus the beys were forced into a position of surrender." He clicked his powerpoint controller, and very suddenly, behind him, appeared not a scanned book or map, but rather a photograph of a modern room. "There are a total of ten buildings on campus, and escape is only possible through the offices of the administration."

He clicked to the next slide and a drawing of an Ottoman general appeared. "The provincial governor sent word to his troops to gather in Valona..."

I blinked. Had I imagined it? I glanced around to see others looking as confused as me. But... he had given us a piece of information. We now knew a way out.

And then, literally two slides later, another surprising picture was projected behind him. It was me. Me from the day before, standing in the yoga studio with Katy and Emily. I was looking at them, a blush on my face.

Monokuma said, just as dryly as the entire lecture had been, "Saya Wild is bisexual, leaning gay, and extreeeeeeemely closeted." And then he just started talking about the Ottoman Empire again.

The world flashed white; I almost pitched over in my seat. I felt sick and cold and shivery.

I barely registered Giuseppe leaping to his feet. "What the hell was that?" he growled.

"Don't interrupt the lecture!" Ashley screeched, but Monokuma waved his paw casually.

"I told you," the bear said. "There are three topics in this class. World history, potential ways to escape from campus, and all of your darkest, most dearly-held secrets."

Almost every single person in the room was staring at me. I sat there in shock, my head swimming. "It's not..." I managed to say, and that was it.

Monokuma laughed. "Oh my! And that was one of the least scandalous ones! I can't wait until we get to some of these meatier secrets the rest of you have."

I felt a hand on my arm; it was Bepi. He was pulling along Rodrigo, who looked bewildered. "Do you want us to take you to your room?" Bepi asked. I think I nodded, and together, they were leading me out of the auditorium.

Just as we were stepping outside, I heard Monokuma's voice: "This class will continue meeting only until the first murder, of course! So if you want your secrets to stay safe, you know what to do..."

 **DORM: SAYA'S ROOM**

Like a montage in a bad movie, the next few minutes were choppy and blurry. I found myself back in my room, sitting on my bed, staring at nothing. The guys had left me alone, promising to check back in later.

Everyone knew. Did everyone knowing make it true? Being able to deny it had made it not true. Mom even asked once, outright. I denied it, so it wasn't true. But now I couldn't. I was stuck.

I realized dumbly that my right hand was clasped into a tight fist. I opened it and saw a crumpled piece of paper with writing on it. Lucina's. She had somehow handed it to me before I'd left.

I unfolded the note and saw: _I'm here if you need me._

Very suddenly, it hit me emotionally that I, and everyone in here with me, was going to die. The tears came quickly. I sobbed and sobbed.

* * *

A knock on the door startled me awake. I'm not sure how long I had been sleeping; it looked like mid-afternoon outside. I stumbled to the door and opened it, too numb to be careful.

Bepi and Juliet stood there, smiling awkwardly. "We were gonna head down to the student stores, get some snacks or something," Bepi greeted. "Want to come?"

I nodded. Snacks sounded good.

 **DORM: UPSTAIRS HALLWAY**

As we walked down the hall, Juliet clasped her hands and looked at me with concern. "I'm so sorry about this morning," she breathed. "That was just awful of Monokuma to do such a thing." She scrunched up her face in anger. "Imagine, using someone's way of loving to hurt them. It's... it's just awful."

We reached the elevator and pushed the button, beginning our typically long wait for it to arrive. "Oh," Juliet said, "I told Giuseppe this, but you were gone too. After class, I tried to convince everyone to stop attending, so we wouldn't learn each other's secrets. But too many people said it was too important to learn how to escape." She shook her head sadly. "I hate that others will have to go through the same pain you have. Are you all right?"

"Honestly, I just feel dumb about it," I admitted. "I've always known people like Katy, who can be open. But I never could."

"Why not?"

I shrugged. "Kids in school never really... got me. Hard to... find connections. And it was just me and my mom at home, and she works most of the time."

Juliet smiled warmly. "Parents can be difficult, but they want what's best for you. My parents are the ones who taught me about love." She sighed dreamily and looked over at Bepi. "What about your parents?"

"I'm an orphan," Bepi replied. He pointed at the _CHILD SOLDIER PROGRAM_ lapel. "My parents were drill sergeants and hand grenades."

There was a long pause. Thankfully, the elevator arrived and we could move on.

 **STUDENT UNION: STUDENT STORES**

When we arrived, I was once again completely awestruck by the range of items available. There was a baffling array of items, from practical things like shaving gel and band-aids to...

"What college student needs a deep-sea diving suit?" I wondered. "There's not even anywhere to dive, around here."

Juliet spun in a slow circle, equally amazed. "Wow, a whole patio furniture section? Rock-climbing equipment?" She clasped her hands and cooed. "Aww, look, they have a bunch of kids' clothes!"

Bepi shook his head grimly. "Monokuma's just trying to overwhelm and confuse us. A lot of useless nonsense, and among it..."

He walked over to the wilderness survival nook and came back with a large, very sharp machete. "...weapons." He swooshed the blade around.

Juliet gaped, her large eyes wide. "Could... could that really kill someone?"

"Easily." Bepi set the machete down on a nearby shelf. "I don't see any guns or explosives. But there's dozens of deadly objects here. This is where we're supposed to... supply ourselves."

I frowned. "Is there some kind of record for who buys what?"

"Good question." Bepi walked to the snack section, picked out a bag of Funyuns, and brought them to the automatic check-out station. He glanced at the sign with instructions. "Okay," he muttered. "'Students are given an allowance of one hundred US dollars per week for sundries... scan your Kumaputor to complete purchase. Shoplifting is punishable by flaying.' Cute."

He scanned the Funyuns, then he scanned his tablet. The machine beeped and, a few seconds later, output a small white receipt. Bepi took it and glanced it over. "It's got the item I bought, the amount I spent, and... hm. Not my name, but my talent." He showed it to us.

"That's good, right?" Juliet asked, studying the receipt carefully. "We'll be able to tell if someone buys a weapon!"

"Maybe." Bepi glanced at his snacks, grimacing. "I don't even like these. Here." He abruptly tossed them to me.

"Ack!" Startled, I brought my hands up to protect my face; the Funyuns bounced off my arm and fell to the ground. I giggled nervously.

"I guess you like them even less than I do," Bepi observed dryly. I gave a nervous giggle and picked up the bag.

 **DORM: SOLARIUM**

I actually like Funyuns, so after we said our goodbyes, I headed to the solarium to eat them. It was comfortable in there, and despite the day I'd had so far, I felt myself relaxing.

But then, Katy walked in. She carried a rake and a spade, and she froze in the doorway for a moment when she saw me, but after a second she plastered on her charming smile and strode in.

"I'm sorry to bother you, dear one," she breathed. "I'm supposed to tend the plants in here, but I can come back if you wish."

I shook my head. "No, it's okay. Is that your chore this week?"

Katy set her spade down and began to rake a patch of ferns. "After you... left, Monokuma passed out the equipment we'd need."

"Oh."

There was a brief silence.

"My dear," Katy began, not looking directly at me as she raked, "I'm not certain if this is a good time to talk about this, or absolutely the worst time. But yesterday, you seemed curious about my works. I'm always enthusiastic to educate people about lesbian romance fiction."

I blinked at her, surprised. "Oh." I scratched the back of my head in agitation, trying to balance my discomfort with my desire to deepen our friendship. "Okay. Tell me about it."

"Yee!" Katy nearly squealed with delight, flashing a brilliant smile my way. She kept raking, but she seemed to shift into a more innocent, childlike mindset. "Okay. Okay. So, the first thing you have to know is, lesbian romance is not just romance about lesbians!"

"It's not?"

"Oh, no! It's a unique genre with a fascinating history!" Still grinning, Katy moved to another section to rake that. "It started in about the 1940s. Pulp fiction was huge, and women were buying dime store romance novels by the hundreds. Lurid descriptions, stock characters, plots that adhered to a strict formula!" She listed these things as if they were great virtues, spinning around with her rake as if ballroom dancing with it.

"...And some of these romances were about lesbians?" I asked.

"Eventually!" she replied with excitement. "Slowly, gradually, the audience for these books became known. These books were utterly shameless, presenting the most detailed, evocative descriptions anyone had ever seen. Many a novel was hidden where hubby never looked, and taken off to be read in the bathtub."

She hugged the rake to her chest and looked at me. "So, that's one of the three key elements of lesbian romance. Description. Creating a scene that the reader can place herself into. Sensuality."

"Um. Okay." I was distressed to learn that I was apparently so repressed, I got embarrassed just from hearing the word 'sensuality.' "What's the second element?"

"Setting. The history is pulp fiction, remember. We have to take the reader to a distinct but unusual place. A dude ranch, or ancient Rome, or a casino, or a college campus, or the like. A place the reader has an immediate image of, so you don't have to waste time describing it."

"Hm, okay. And what's the third?"

"Ah!" Katy froze, holding up an index finger. "That's the most important. The third element... is tragedy."

"Tragedy?"

"Of course, dear heart." She nearly swooned. "The laws and culture of the mid-20th century allowed sapphic beauty to be displayed... as long as it didn't end happily. The lesbian romance must be portrayed as dangerous, toxic, desperate. It ends with madness or suicide or prison. The laws have changed, but that remains a key, key aspect of the genre."

"Wait." I squinted up at her, unsure I was hearing correctly. "All of your stories have tragic endings?"

"That's why it's all so romantic!" Katy answered. "Look on TV! Half the gay characters die, and the other half are crazy. And the deaths are extra tragic, they're heroic sacrifices or a cruel, pointless murder that happens right as they're most joyful. This is the beauty of lesbian romance!" She paused, rubbing her chin in thought. "Well, in America, at least. I'll tell you about other countries some other time, okay?"

I just looked at her, bemused. "You don't want to... to show lesbians being normal and happy?"

"No! I want to portray feelings. The aching and longing." She held her fist against her chest, and I realized she was clutching a locket that hung around her neck.

I frowned. "I... this might be a stupid question. But... are you a lesbian?"

She laughed. "Why, of course I am!"

"And... you're... I mean. You're successful... with girls?"

She just winked. "Why do you ask?" I glanced down at her hand, holding the rake. Her fingernails were long, pristine, beautifully manicured.

"No reason."

 **DORM: ENTRANCE LOBBY**

As I walked out of the solarium, there was a bizarre sight that in retrospect I should not have found surprising. Rodrigo stood in the middle of the lobby, staring intently at a large vacuum cleaner. He poked at it randomly and shook his fist in anger. "Confounded contraption!" he growled.

I hesitantly walked closer. "Have you never used a vacuum before?"

"The devil's implement!"

"No... no, see, it's easy once you're used to it." I unwound the cord on the vacuum and walked over to the wall. "First, you plug it in..." I inserted the plug into the socket and walked back to the vacuum. "...then, you just turn it on, here." I flicked the switch. The vacuum came to life, emitting a loud whir.

Rodrigo screamed. He grabbed the vacuum and threw it across the room. It unplugged itself and clattered on the floor.

Rocky burst out of the lounge, looking around wildly. "Whoa!" he yelled. "What the hell?!"

Rodrigo pointed at the vacuum, lying there pathetically. "I will not lay my hands on the shrieking wind demon!"

"Hey dude, chill, chill." Rocky walked closer, waving his hands in a calming motion. "It's okay."

I checked on the vacuum; it was dented but probably still worked.

Rocky scratched the back of his head. "Dude. Did they have mops back where you're from? Have you ever mopped?"

Rodrigo frowned. "Ay. My skill with a mop rivals my skill with a blade."

"Then let's switch, okay? I'll vacuum, you mop."

"Can we do that?" I asked.

"Oh yeah." Rocky looked up at the ceiling. "Uh, Bear Man? Hello?"

I jumped in surprise as Monokuma suddenly appeared. "Yes, my dear student?!"

"Yo." Rocky looked completely unsurprised. "Can me and Roddy switch chores? Or will we get in trouble?"

"Hmmmmm." Monokuma scratched his chin in thought. "Sure! The mop and bucket are right downstairs."

"Cool, cool." Rocky held up an index finger. "Oh. Been meaning to ask. What if, like, I poison some food, and I give it to Saya. But instead of eating it, she adds some more poison and gives it to Rodrigo and he eats it. Who's the killer?"

"Whoever put more poison in. What is with you idiots?! Why do you keep asking these questions?"

"This whole idea of yours just seems... hard to enforce," I said.

"Murder is murder!" he shouted.

"Well, maybe," I replied hesitantly. "But things can be complicated. A lot of situations, things wouldn't just go one clear-cut way."

"Well, you'd know all about that, now wouldn't you?!" Monomuma snapped. He stomped his foot and disappeared.

There was a very uncomfortable pause. "Gotta admit, he got you good," Rocky remarked.

Rodrigo raised his hand. "I have been wondering. What does 'bisexual' mean?"

 **GYMNASIUM: WEIGHT ROOM**

After an uneventful dinner, I decided to go back to the gym for a workout. To my slight surprise, I ran into JP there, doing bench presses and bicep curls and I think that's it.

I went and did my run, then headed back to the weight room. He was still there, flexing into a mirror. He waved when he saw me, and I returned the gesture.

"Have you been in here the whole time?" I asked.

"Oh yeah, dude, gotta get swoll." He rubbed his hands over his triceps and grinned. "Chicks are all about the dad bod these days."

I couldn't help smiling myself at his confidence. "I've heard that." I paused. "Hey, can I ask you a question? I'm not really sure I... get your talent."

He squinted at me in genuine confusion. "What do you mean?"

I waved my hands around uselessly. "What's the Ultimate Fraternity Brother? What's that mean? You... make really good parties?"

"Dude!" He pulled back, looking legitimately offended. "No! I mean, yeah, I can put together a killer rager. But that's not really what I'm all about. Fraternities are about brotherhood and community. Like, it connects down through the generations. I'm the best at forging connections, knowing who can help who."

I clearly still didn't get it. He sighed. "Like, okay. Let's say my bro Frisbee wants to buy a restaurant, or something. I can give him the names of three alumni in the wholesaling business, plus I know two chefs through the community service event I organized last year. Get it?"

"Your friend's name is Frisbee?"

He ignored my question. "Some of the students here think I'm useless. But hell no, I know I'm the most important guy you got. You want me to get out of here."

I crossed my arms. "Why?"

"Dude, think about it. All this money and technology? The people who run this are connected. A bunch of stupid kids can't touch 'em."

"What do you mean?" I asked. "They kidnapped us. We'll tell the police. Expose them."

JP snorted. "Oh, come on, dude, you're smarter than that. Justice ain't about justice, it's about who you know. Even if we get out of here, there's no way we could take them down without some big-time power on our side, you know? I'm talking judges, senators, CEOs. Dudes I can get in touch with."

I grimaced. "Okay," I conceded, "you have a point. But... I don't think people think you're useless. I think they just don't get you."

"What's there to get?" he asked happily, throwing his arms back. "I'm me! I hang out."

"Yes," a voice said. "Not hard to figure out."

We turned and saw Therion walking into the room. He was pushing an enormous, wheeled laundry cart like the kind you see in health spas. He stared at us for a moment. "Need your towels."

"Oh, I said. "Is this your chore this week? I left a used towel in the locker room."

JP held his towel up. "Yo, heads up!" He tossed to Therion. Without changing facial expression even a bit, Therion stepped to the side and let the towel fly past him. Then he turned, picked it up off the floor, and dropped it into his canvas cart.

I put my hands on my hips, smiling slightly. "You don't look too happy about this chore."

Therion gave me a blank look. "Trying to make a game of it. Not easy." Without another word, he gave a gentle push to his cart and smoothly wheeled it in the direction of the locker room.

JP shook his head. "See, you talk to that guy, and you think people don't get me?"

"Another good point." I turned to go. "I need to shower and take a nap before my guard shift tonight. Let me know how yours goes, okay?"

"Will do." His expression suddenly became serious. "Oh, one more thing, dude." He quickly held up three fingers, then two fingers, then three again. He wiggled his hand in an esoteric, odd way.

I stared at him. "I'm sorry, what?"

His face settled back into a relaxed expression. "Just checking. See you around!" He walked off with a casual wave.

 **DORM: SAYA'S ROOM**

Everyone seemed to want to get their chores out of the way quickly; I passed Rodrigo dutifully carrying a bucket of soapy water to wherever he was mopping, and I tried not to laugh at the plight of Ashley struggling up a tall ladder to windows she still could barely reach.

When I got to my room, I set my alarm clock to wake me up at 12:45. I fell asleep quickly and, surprisingly, I slept well. Monokuma was in my dream, wearing a chef's hat and stirring a giant pot of soup, but even though he gesticulated wildly, he was utterly, blessedly silent. No horrible, squeaky voice, no sound at all.

My alarm went off and I grumbled. I usually liked being up at night, but I was not particularly looking forward to standing in a hallway for four and a half hours. Especially when I could get out of it just by turning Morgan in... not that I would.

 **DORM: UPSTAIRS HALLWAY**

I stepped out into the hallway, not having bothered changing out of my sleeping ensemble: pajama bottoms and oversized T-shirt. It wasn't until I saw my sentry partner that I remembered why this was a bad idea.

Nicole wore what looked like pajamas too, but they were somehow classier than any dress I'd ever owned. They fit her form perfectly, and they had weird, semi-Victorian frills. Totally funky and unique.

She was talking to Emily, who saw me approach and waved. "Oh, thank goodness," she said. "Sorry I can't stay to talk; I'm all in." She yawned like a baby lion and sleepily walked off to her room.

Nicole smiled at me, her eyes dipping down to my outfit just for a split second. "Hey, you okay after this morning?" she asked.

I blinked. "Oh. Yeah, I think so. I'm..." I trailed off, because midway through my answer, Nicole opened up a sketchbook she had with her and began flipping through it. "Uh."

"I'm listening," she said, still scanning the pages.

"Um. I was just surprised. I was planning on coming out in college! Just... not so soon."

"Mm hmm." Nicole pointed at a page in her book. She turned it around to show me a drawing of a midi skirt and form-fitting turtleneck. "You'd look cute in this. Tiny bit prudish, but in a sexy way, and just a touch of gay." She pulled it away and assessed her drawing again. "Too gay? No. You like it?"

"I... do," I replied. "I'd love to wear something like that, but it seems kind of... daring. You know?"

"Yeah," she agreed. "Like you!" She snapped her sketchbook closed and grinned at me. "I'll make it for you."

I held up my hands. "Oh wait, you don't have to..."

"I want to! I got all this equipment in my room, but no materials yet. The bear said the store wouldn't sell any fabric until next week. I'll keep you updated." She turned and began walking down the hall away from me, but she kept talking, so I followed her, curious. "I gotta tell you something, not to like diminish your pain or anything, but you must have lived a pretty sweet life if being bi is the biggest secret you got."

"I... don't know if it's the biggest," I replied. "But it's the one that freaks me out the most." I thought of something and tried to be as subtle as I could: "You don't have to tell me, but do you know what Monokuma would reveal about you?"

She walked a few more steps, then stopped suddenly. She leaned her back against the wall and slid down to a seated position. I sat down across from her, leaning against the opposite wall. I was learning it paid to just take things as they come with Nicole.

"Where are you from? Someone told me Miami, but what neighborhood?"

"Bal Harbour. It's actually a village, but..."

"Hmm." She gave me an unreadable look. "Rich part of town?"

I blushed. "It's not _not_ rich."

She nodded. "I'm from Detroit."

"Oh." I looked up at her. "Rich part of town?"

"No. Very, very not rich part of town."

"Ah."

"Keeping your head above the shit, that's every day. Just you, your family, and maybe one or two friends you trust." She looked at me through her stylish bangs. "I know you don't get it. But you hear what I'm saying?"

I nodded.

She suddenly relaxed and gave a casual shrug. "So I totally know what that bear is going to tell everyone. I killed a guy, once."

My mouth fell open.

She began flipping through her sketch book again. "Actually, I don't know the motherfucker's dead," she remarked. "Think so? Stabbed him and never saw him again, so probably." She held open her sketchbook again, showing a tight business suit with a bizarre ascot-looking thing. "This was inspired by that. Cool, huh?" She snapped the sketchbook shut again.

I felt myself hardening and calming slightly. "Why did you do it?"

"Family." She paused for a moment, not looking directly at me. "I know what you're thinking. I did it once, I can do it again, right? But this stuff going on here, this bear shit, making it all a game? That's sick."

"I wasn't thinking that."

She looked at me for a moment, as if trying to determine if I was telling the truth. Finally she nodded. "Okay. So anyway, I know what he's gonna tell everyone about me. But it wasn't murder, it was self-defense. Or, like, family-defense, which is the same thing." She sighed and looked up at the ceiling. "I can't talk about this anymore. I'll tell you later if you want to know all about it."

There was a silence. Finally, I leaned forward. "Hey, can you show me some more outfits that'd look good on me?"

"Yes!" Her face suddenly brightened. "How do you feel about scarves?"

I had no idea how to answer, but she was already plowing ahead, showing me scarf after scarf.

* * *

I talked to Nicole for a little while longer, but four hours is a long time to spend talking about scarves. We eventually started vague patrols, wandering up and down the hallway. Nicole spent a lot of time hunkered down and sketching. I eventually descended into thinking about formulas, the math underlying the moves I make playing the game.

Only one thing happened. About a half hour before dawn, I heard a door closing. I walked towards it, rounded the corner, and saw Ashley there, well-dressed and looking cranky.

I waved. "Good morning. You're up early."

She snorted. "Sleep is ridiculous. A stupid waste of time." She glared up at me. "You're still doing that patrol thing? I was hoping you'd have solved this vandalism problem already."

"Problem?" I'd forgotten how intimidating Ashley could be when she stared me down. "I don't think it's a problem to have someone out there attacking the robot bear who wants us all to kill one another."

"Of course it's a problem!" Ashley snapped, stamping her foot. "Students learn from schools. That's the way it is! You don't change a system like that without a bloody good reason. It's asking for chaos."

I gave her a sideways glare. "Does this mean you're going to play the killing game after all?"

She crossed her arms and rolled her eyes. "You've all made it clear how pointless that would be. I can't change that. But the least everyone can do is keep from mocking the ones in power here. This school is an institution run by professionals. They deserve our respect."

"Do you think they're not the ones behind all this? The school was somehow taken over?"

"Who cares?" she snapped. "Kids are idiots. Society needs to hammer them down into something useful." She demonstrated by smacking one tiny fist into the other tiny palm. "Whatever the system wants us to do is good. Whatever we want to do is bad. The winners in this world are the ones who learn that early."

She pointed behind me. I turned to see Bepi come around the corner, looking surprised to see us. "You!" Ashley barked. "You're a soldier, you know these things! If you start thinking you know better than your commanders, that wrecks everything, right?"

Bepi narrowed his eyes at her. "I see you and I are going to have an argument every single day we know each other. It's good to get today's out of the way early, I guess." He sighed. "I've seen a lot of commanders getting their grunts killed, and I've seen a lot of maverick grunts getting themselves killed. There's no lessons."

"There are; you just don't learn them!" Ashley yipped. "Fine. Both of you can just stay where you are. I'm on my way up." And she stomped off in a huff.

"She's a cranky one," Bepi commented.

I nodded. "I've met people like her before. All rigid... she can't adapt." I frowned. "I'm worried about her, if the killing game really does start."

He began to say something, then paused, a strange look on his face. "I wouldn't have expected you to say something like that," he mused finally.

"Something like what?"

"Something acknowledging that people might actually start killing each other."

I was silent for a moment, then I shrugged. "People aren't chess pieces," I said. "I can't stop them from doing something, just because I want them to."

Bepi just looked at me. "Well, I don't know if I agree with that," he said, "but it's good to be able to list you among the grown-ups, here." Then he just gave a quick wave and walked off.

 **STUDENT UNION: CAFETERIA**

After the sun came up, I grabbed a quick nap before running to breakfast. I served myself some oatmeal and sat with Emily and Jane. The former smiled, the latter grimaced.

"Well, hello," Jane said, disdain oozing from her voice. "I was hoping to have a conversation this morning about _science_ , but I suppose we can talk about your little toy soldiers. Or maybe what boys and girls we like?"

"Oh," Emily enthused, completely oblivious, "Rodrigo is very handsome, don't you think?" It actually did not seem too implausible that she literally did not know what sarcasm was. Jane rolled her eyes.

"Um, actually, I just wanted to ask Emily about her guard duty last night," I said, doing my best to ignore both Jane's scorn and the cleavage she seemed suddenly enthusiastic to point my way.

Emily scratched her head. "Ah, of course. It was uneventful, for the most part. A few people were up late, but nothing too unusual. Yours?"

"Nothing." I leaned closer. "Have you thought about why Monokuma would be doing this? He monitors everything; there's no way he doesn't know who the vandal is."

"That's obvious," Jane scoffed. "He's forcing us to rat one another out, of course. Sow distrust. It'd be a problem if two-thirds of the people here weren't already dullards."

I frowned, but before I could reply, I saw Morgan walk into the cafeteria, looking a bit haggard. I excused myself from the table and trotted over to him as he stared dazedly at the breakfast foods.

"Hey," I greeted. He stared at me blankly, then his face shifted to a warm smile, then to a distrustful glare. "I hope you're not going to ask me about the same thing you did yesterday," he said.

I took a step towards him, trying to keep my voice low. "Look, I get trying to keep it secret," I said. "And I'll help you. But there was a message in my room when I woke up here, and..."

"Saya!" he shouted suddenly, but it degenerated halfway through into coughs. When his fit subsided, he wiped his mouth with one hand and pointed at me with the other. "Leave it the fuck alone." He walked off towards the food, leaving me behind to be stared at.

G **ENERAL EDUCATION BUILDING: AUDITORIUM**

I decided to get to class early. But even though I was there fifteen minutes before it started, Ashley already sat in the front row, staring forward intently. She must have taken the tunnel and come in the side door.

Students trickled into the room. Jane came, pulled along by Emily. Still no Rocky, Barrett, or Nicole, and this time, JP was missing, too. When Katy came in and sat next to me, she explained that he never showed up to breakfast either, but Earl went to his room and confirmed he had simply overslept. Morgan came in last, sitting sullenly in the back row by himself.

Monokuma appeared suddenly, as always. "All right, you pathetic children!" he bellowed, shaking a fist. "I hope you came here ready to learn!" And with no further preamble, he launched into a detailed, seemingly year-by-year description of the Tang Dynasty in China.

I don't think I fell asleep, but I came close. But after an hour, the powerpoint flashed to an animation: moving words across the screen that said _SECRET TIME_.

"One of you," Monokuma said, "doesn't deserve to be here."

He cast his paw across the room. "Someone here isn't an Ultimate at all. They're just a pathetic little nobody, at the bottom of society's hierarchies. They're only here because they're... connected to someone who actually is an Ultimate. Doesn't it just break your heart?"

He paused dreadfully, giggling. "Who could it be? Who could it be? Deep down in their heart, do they already know? Have they always suspected they were a phony?"

He put his paw against his face, as if bashful. "Even though they refuse to admit it, do they look at their paintings and secretly know they're awful?"

In shock, I turned around to look at Morgan, sitting in the back row. His eyes were wide and his forehead glistened with sweat. "It's not true," he rasped.

"Puhuhuhu! But it is! Did you really think a talentless hack like you would be scouted by a university like this? You're no good to anyone!"

Morgan opened his mouth to say something else, but he suddenly doubled over into a severe coughing fit. It was louder and more violent than any I'd seen before, his body writhing... but very suddenly it stopped.

Morgan looked up, a different expression on his face than I had ever seen. He slowly stood and began slowly making his way down the aisle towards the speaking stage.

"There's my little Ultimate!" Monokuma burst out. "Woo, it's such a relief to be rid of that loser, huh? Doesn't the energy in the room just change for the better when there's only talented people in it?"

Morgan said nothing, his stride jerky and slow, like a praying mantis. But all of a sudden, he dashed forward with blinding speed and pounced on top of Monokuma, pinning him to the ground.

Monokuma shrieked. "Stop! Physically harming your adviser is a capital offense!"

For a moment, Morgan just glared down at him. Then he pulled a small tube of paint out of his pocket. He opened it and squirted a purple blob onto his hand. With a malicious grin, he smeared one line and then another onto Monokuma's face, leaving behind a brutal, ugly X.

Then Morgan just stood up and turned around to face the rest of us. "You garbage," he spat, "you wet piles of shit. You have no idea what's going on here. You're all going to die, and you're too stupid to stop it." Almost casually, he walked back to his seat in the final row of the room and sat. "Hey!" he yelled. "Why'd the lecture stop?"

Monokuma hopped to his feet, seemingly unbothered by the interruption or the mark on his face. "Right! We have some very important knowledge coming up next!"

After what had already happened, I thought I was beyond being surprised by anything, but Monokuma clicked to a powerpoint slide that just had a big question mark on it, and he said something so bone-chilling, I may never forget it: "The mastermind lives among you."

Morgan laughed. It was a grotesque sound, loud and cruel. The rest of us sat in silence as we grappled with that information. Finally, Earl sputtered, "What do you mean, the mastermind? Who is this mastermind?!"

"The one who kidnapped all of you!" Monokuma replied gleefully. "The one who programmed me! The one who is forcing you all to kill one another! They're pretending to be a lost little student, just like the rest of you, but secretly, they're running the show!"

Rodrigo jumped to his feet. "Tell us the identity of this blackguard!" he commanded.

Monokuma just tittered. "No no, it'll spoil the fun if you know any more. But!" He held up a paw. "This whole campus is tied to the mastermind. So, if someone kills them, all the defenses keeping you trapped in here will automatically be shut off. Isn't that delightful? I bet you're disappointed you all decided not to murder anyone, huh?"

I felt like I couldn't even breathe. By the time I even wrapped my head around what he'd said, he was talking about Chinese history again.

I looked behind me. Morgan was staring directly at me. Slowly, he took a purple finger and traced it across his own throat. He winked.

* * *

 _Fact 11: Nicole, JP, Emily, and myself were reassigned to guarding the upstairs hallway to catch the vandal, even though Monokuma should already know who it is._

 _Fact 12: The tunnel is a faster route to the classroom, but only Ashley seems willing to use it regularly. The hallway from the elevator in the general education building contains doors leading to a laundry room, a classroom supply room, and a closet full of cleaning equipment._

 _Fact 13: Apparently the only escape is through the administration building, but we don't have any way of getting there that we know about._

 _Fact 14: Monokuma's lectures will reveal important secrets about us. The class will stop if a murder occurs._

 _Fact 15: The student stores prints out a receipt for each purchase with identifying information on it._

 _Fact 16: Chores: Katy is tending the solarium. Ashley is cleaning windows. Therion is doing laundry. Rodrigo and Rocky switched: Rodrigo is mopping and Rocky is vacuuming._

 _Fact 17: Rocky, Nicole, and Barrett skip class regularly. Jane and JP have each missed one class._

 _Fact 18: Nicole has apparently killed before._

 _Fact 19: Morgan was revealed to not have an ultimate talent, but his demeanor changed suddenly, and then Monokuma implied he did have a talent after all._

 _Fact 20: The mastermind is one of us, and if we kill them, all the defense systems on campus will shut off automatically, and we can escape easily._

* * *

 **Okay, most of our cast has had some good screen time by this point. Any favorites? Is there anyone you want to see more of?**

 **Also, I get the feeling a murder might happen pretty soon. Who do you think the first victim will be? (It's not Saya)**


	9. Economics of Labor I: Part C

**DORM: LOUNGE**

Immediately after class, Earl and Ashley convened an emergency meeting back at the dorm. Morgan... or whoever that actually was... just sat in his seat in the back row as we filed out, watching us with a grin. We rounded up JP and Nicole, though Barrett and Rocky were still nowhere to be found, and met in the lounge.

The lounge was a cacophony as soon as we settled in, with everyone frantically talking over one another. Earl stood on a table and bellowed, "Friends! Friends!" until everyone finally settled down and paid attention to him.

"We must discuss today's events reasonably and with clear heads!" he announced.

"Hey, why should we listen to anything you say?" Nicole asked. "You might be the mastermind."

"All decisions are made among the entire group," Earl argued. "And if any leadership is required, Coelho and I both have accepted that position! I am no mastermind; I do not sneak in the dark like a vole. However, if I was, she serves as a check on me, and vice versa!"

"The bear never said the mastermind didn't have allies," Nicole grunted. "How do you know we can trust either of you?"

"I... don't think that's a helpful line of thinking," Katy said. "We should be careful, but we can't do that if we think everyone is out to get us."

Therion stared at Nicole. "Possible everyone is ally to mastermind except you," he said. "Very difficult to survive. Doesn't really matter what you do."

Nicole blinked. "That supposed to calm me down?"

I jumped in. "I think what Therion means is, the way we'll get through this is by working together. It's more dangerous to go crazy with distrust, even if it means we risk trusting the wrong person."

Ashley stepped forcefully to the center of the room. "She's right. Think about what we know of the mastermind. Monokuma holds us in contempt. Because of our age, he calls us spoiled and lazy and oversensitive." She cast her gaze around the room. "I happen to think he's entirely correct about our generation, in general. But what would prove him right, more than anything, is if we grew cynical and paranoid. If we threw away the one real advantage we have: our numbers." Her shrill voice lost its piercing quality and became almost a song. "There's only one reason the mastermind would live among us. To keep us from trusting one another? Maybe, but there's lots of ways to do that. No, the real reason is, they want to see their handiwork up close. To see us fall apart. I say, let's refuse them the satisfaction. Let's make them watch us hang together, powerless to intervene, as we fight to escape."

The room was eerily silent as she stopped talking. I legitimately felt like applauding. "Ashley," Juliet said eventually, "that was... that was so inspiring."

"Of course it was, I'm the ultimate goddamn debater!" Ashley snapped.

"We are in agreement!" Earl announced happily. "Now, we must discuss the second issue: our friend the painter!"

"That was such a frightening sight," Emily said, shivering. "He changed so completely. Could he have a multiple personality?"

"Come now, a scientist should have higher standards for their suggestions," Jane grunted. "That doesn't exist. It's merely when suggestible people come to truly believe they have different personalities."

"Um, I'm not sure there's a meaningful difference between those two things..." Emily replied timidly.

"I wrote a novel about multiple personalities once," Katy mused. "This woman had a secret admirer, and it turns out, it was herself! Then, she tried to have herself cut in half, but she died on the operating table."

"That sounds like a delightfully thrilling love story!" Earl bellowed. "But the more pressing concern is whether we can trust him!"

"Dude seems nuts," JP said. "But gotta say, what he did to that bear was pretty sweet."

"Indeed," Rodrigo said, nodding. "He showed true courage. I believe he is an ally and friend."

There was vague nodding throughout the room. I did not contribute to it. A... multiple personality... would explain Morgan's ignorance about making the message in the quad. But it wouldn't explain why Monokuma feigned ignorance about who wrote it. There was something more going on.

Giuseppe poked his hand into the air. "Wait," he said. "We're not talking about the most important thing. The class."

Nicole looked at him quizzically. "What about the class?"

"It's been two days, and there's already been a mental breakdown," Giuseppe replied. "I don't think we can risk attending anymore."

"But we must attend!" Rodrigo argued. "How else are we to know how to escape?"

"That's the trap," Therion said. "Been stupid about the class. Playing right into the bear's plans."

"That's asinine," Jane snapped. "I presume most of us don't think we have multiple personalities, right? We all know our own deepest, big bad secrets."

"That's what he's counting on," Bepi said. "He expects someone to kill to keep their secret from being exposed."

"Well, what do you suggest?" Jane asked him snidely.

"Could all stay away, except one person," Therion said, a blankly thoughtful expression on his face. "One representative. Minimize risk, still learn escape routes."

"Uh, whoever that is would just be signing up for 'getting murdered duty,' right?" JP pointed out. "They'd be the only one who knows all the secrets."

"Yeah, and what if the secrets aren't just embarrassing?" Emily said. "What if they're things that could be used to make someone lower their guard or be distracted?"

Earl rubbed his chin in thought. "Yes. We must continue to attend class, I fear! There is safety in numbers."

"Still stupid," Therion muttered darkly. "Never do what your opponent expects you to do. It's dangerous to go to class."

"Yeah," Nicole agreed. "The bear is messing with us. Fuck that."

"If that is your choice, then we will respect it!" Earl declared. "But we must allow people to attend if they wish!"

"And don't be so worried," Katy admonished unconvincingly. "There's not going to be a murder. We aren't those kinds of people. Okay? We're safe."

No one knew what to say to that. I think I know what everyone wanted to say, but thankfully no one said it.

 **DORM: ENTRANCE LOBBY**

As the meeting convened and we all walked back out into the lobby, I was surprised to see Rocky there, pacing around anxiously. When he saw us, he ran closer. "Hey," he said breathlessly. "There you guys are. Uh hey, I don't know what's going on, but just a heads up: Do not go outside right now."

"Why? Ashley asked. She was answered by a deep rumbling and then a loud boom echoing from the quad.

"Ah, fuck," Rocky said, scratching his head. "They did it."

Rodrigo heedlessly ran to the door, threw it open, and dashed outside. The rest of us followed more cautiously.

 **MAIN QUAD**

It wasn't as bad as I'd feared, but it was still pretty nuts. Through the black smoke, I could see a crater in the ground near the gym. Morgan(?) and Barrett stood nearby, the former laughing and the latter inspecting the hole critically. Monokuma scurried around, sputtering in rage.

Morgan(?) turned to us and waved (I think he might have been waving directly at me). He was dressed in a large, black, baggy sweatshirt, the hood pulled over his head and covering most of his features. Ignoring the teddy bear's protests, he picked up a nearby can of red paint and began pouring it into the crater.

"What madness is this?!" Rodrigo yelled, running close.

"Art!" answered the man in the sweatshirt.

"Fuck off with that art shit," Barrett grunted. "I'm just testing my new cocktail."

"It's an outrage!" Monokuma yelled. "It's unacceptable! The rules..."

"Oi, you can stuff your rules," Barrett interrupted. "And I didn't break 'em anyway, did I? Rules never say I can't blow a hole in the fucking ground."

"They will as soon as I sit down and make a rule about it!" Monokuma snapped, and he disappeared.

Barrett gave a smile, which I had never seen before. "Cheers, mate," he said to the man in the hoodie. "I ain't never had a mind for art, but I like your swagger. Come see me later, eh?" He casually walked off into the student union.

Morgan(?) tossed the paint can away. He took a step back and admired his handiwork. No one said anything for a moment.

Finally, Jane spoke up. "...But what does it mean?"

The man in the hoodie glared at her. "It's art. It doesn't have to mean anything." He sighed and looked back at the crater. "But look at the way the red seeps into the ground. There's an important lesson there, if you're smart enough to get it." And then he just left.

 **DORM: ENTRANCE LOBBY**

Once I got back inside, Rocky pulled me aside. "Yo," he said. "What's going on?"

"We think Morgan has an alternate personality," I answered, feeling stupid just saying it out loud. "Monokuma told us he wasn't really the Ultimate Painter, and he... changed."

"No shit." Rocky rubbed the back of his head in bewilderment. "Was that one of the secrets he was gonna be revealing? I didn't think it was all going to be so heavy when I heard about that. I'd hate to have him do that to me."

I gave him a sideways look. "Is that why you don't go to class? You don't want to hear him say a secret?"

He laughed. "Oh, come on, do I look like the kind of guy who studies and listens to lectures?"

I shrugged. "Maybe. Do you know what he'd reveal?"

He stopped laughing. "No. And I don't want to think about it, either. I told you before, dude, thinking too much messes me up. There's nothing. I don't know anything."

"But what if everyone else hears it? You won't..."

"Dude!" He suddenly took a step closer to me, his gaze hard. "There's nothing. Won't happen. Can't happen. Can't. Okay?"

I nodded, and he took a deep breath and relaxed. "Fuck, you got me all uptight," he said. "I need some of your Miami style." He pulled his headphones over his ears. "See you around, buddy." I watched him go.

 **DORM: UPSTAIRS HALLWAY**

I needed to find two people, and I honestly wasn't sure which would be the more difficult interaction. But after going back to my room, combing my hair to make my bob look halfway decent, and changing my jumper to something a little nicer, I found myself drawn in the direction of a particular door. I was too nervous to do anything but this, at the moment.

I knocked. An agonizingly long moment later, the door slowly opened and Lucina looked out at me. She smiled.

"Hi," I said. "You... said we could talk, if I wanted to. Is that still okay?"

She nodded serenely and stepped back. I walked in.

 **DORM: LUCINA'S ROOM**

Lucina's suite had slightly different decoration from mine; it felt a bit warmer and cozier. She led me to a soft chair and perched at a desk nearby, wad of paper and pen in hand. She quickly jotted down and showed me: _How are you doing today?_

I took a deep breath. "All right. You know... considering everything."

She wrote something, oddly hesitant about it. Eventually she held up: _I'm gay, and I was outed without my permission. I'm so furious it happened to you._

I had quite a large number of emotional reactions to that. "Thank you," I said eventually. "Was it hard for you?"

 _Yes. But I can make a new start here. When we get out of here, I'm not going back home._

She looked so sad showing me that note, I couldn't help myself. I stood and sat down in the chair next to her, placing my hand on top of hers. "I'll stay with you, no matter what," I said, not even realizing how ridiculous that sounded until a second later. We sat in silence for a moment.

I pulled my hand back awkwardly. "Hey, um, tell me about conducting, okay? How did you get into it?"

Lucina had a wistful, sad smile as she wrote her response. _I always loved music. I wanted to play every instrument, to sing, everything. But I had no talent._

"Oh, I can't believe that," I said.

 _You have no idea how ugly sounds can be until you've heard me try to play the violin._

I giggled.

 _But I still kept trying, because I loved music so much. But I was so bad, it actually hurt everyone around me. Every noise I made was hideous and painful. That's when I decided I had to stop making noise as much as I could._ She touched her throat softly. _I stopped speaking. Eventually, I stopped being able to._

I scrunched my forehead at her. "How could sound be that ugly? Who told you it was so painful?"

She was already writing, so her next message didn't respond to my question. _But I still loved music, so I wanted to contribute somehow. So I started conducting, and I learned I had a talent for it. I understand music, I just can't produce it._

I wasn't sure what to say to that. But she continued: _And I get to be the unifier. I get to be the reason everyone is together. I like that._

"I see how you're good at it," I said. She blushed. I'm sure I was blushing, too.

 **DORM: UPSTAIRS HALLWAY**

After a few deep breaths in a dark room, I was ready for my next encounter. I was dreading this one; there was no ambivalence here. But I had to do it.

I knocked, and there was a loud shuffling on the other side of the door. It flung open, and Morgan... or whoever it was in Morgan's body... stood there. He was not wearing his hoodie; in fact, he wasn't wearing a shirt at all. Although this was not why I chose it, I became grateful I as wearing my nice jumper.

"Ehe," he tittered. "C'mon in."

 **DORM: MORGAN'S ROOM**

As I stepped in, I noticed the room was quite messy, art supplies littering the whole space. I turned and fixed my gaze on him, as coldly as I could. "Should I call you Morgan?"

"Nope."

"What should I call you then?"

"Anything but Morgan." He sneered. "Loser doesn't deserve to be addressed. I'm the Ultimate Vandal. Everything he hates."

* * *

 _NAME: N/A (ThatOneFireEmblemFan)_  
 _TALENT: Ultimate Vandal_

 _:::::::_

 _Q: If your life was a story, what genre would it be?_  
 _UV: What's your favorite genre?_  
 _Q: This interview isn't about me._  
 _UV: You're wrong. It's your story. I'm not writing it. I'm just commentary._  
 _Q: Please sit down._  
 _UV: Your story. Your..._  
 _Q: Please..._  
[loud crash]

* * *

The Ultimate Vandal glided across the room to a can of blue paint. He dipped his hand into it and smeared the paint across his bare chest and stomach. "Do you like my art?" he asked.

I did not find myself able to reply, especially when he suddenly slammed his body into the wall, leaving behind a smear of blue. He leered at me, grabbing a paint can and spraying pink onto his body, then smearing a handful of white acrylic. "You don't even know what this place is," he grunted.

I did my best to stay firm. "What do you mean? What have you been trying to tell us?"

He flung himself against another wall, staining it. "This place is full of lies. Lies and lies and lies." He flopped his body down onto the bed and rolled onto the floor, leaving smeared colors behind. "It pretends to be a college and it isn't, but you know that. But it isn't what it pretends to be, either."

"Are you trying to frighten me?" I asked.

"Living is art," he answered. "Living is entropy. Entropy is chaos. Therefore. Art is chaos." He slapped his arm against the wall, leaving behind a spatter of blue and white.

The bizarreness of his behavior was starting to lose its power, and I felt myself mostly irritated by him. "If you know something important, why won't you tell us?"

"I wasn't trusted with special knowledge only to blurt it out. Pay attention to my art. You'll figure it out."

"This is pointless." I rolled my eyes and walked to the door. "Morgan, if you're in there, we could use your help. Whoever else is in there, either be useful or stop expecting us to pay attention to you." I opened the door and walked out, trying my best to ignore the laughter that rang out of his room even into the hallway.

 **STUDENT UNION: CAFETERIA**

Dinner was a dour and tense time. Barrett came and actually stayed; he sat alone, eating his hamburger and glaring at everyone.

I sat with Lucina, Emily, and Katy; to my surprise, Juliet joined us after a moment.

"It's good to see you," I said, "but don't you usually eat with Earl and JP?"

"Oh, I try to spend time with everybody," Juliet replied cheerfully. "And sometimes I want something different. You know, spend time with the girls!"

"Indeed," Katy replied, smiling languidly, "I will happily encourage you to spend time with the girls, my dear."

Juliet tittered, bapping Katy lightly on the arm. "Oh, you!" she chirped. Katy turned scarlet.

Juliet quickly blinked, her face shifting to confusion and concern. "Dear, oh dear," she said, looking behind me.

I turned to see The Ultimate Vandal striding into the cafeteria. He was wearing his black hoodie, his features mostly obscured by the hood. He stopped in the entrance, looking around, clearly savoring the attention.

"Ugh," I said, rolling my eyes.

"At least he showed up," Katy pointed out. "I was worried someone would have to go out looking for him."

The Vandal got some food and sat across from Therion, who gave him a terse nod.

"We don't need this," I said. "Rocky and Therion are loners, and Barrett's... unpleasant. But before Morgan changed, no one created this kind of tension."

Katy shuddered. "At least you guys don't have to do guard duty anymore, right?"

I scratched my chin. "I'm not sure." I looked up at the ceiling. "Monokuma?"

A speaker near our table came to life. "Yes, you still have guard duty. And you're welcome! You think that quad there would be easy to mow all torn up like it is?"

Emily sighed. "Well, I suppose I should go buy some snacks. The sun should come down in about an hour, I think."

Juliet jumped to her feet. "I'll go with you! I want to hear about space!"

We watched them walk to the exit, but my attention was captured by something else. The Ultimate Vandal was sitting perfectly normally. I couldn't see his face under his black hood. But I couldn't shake the feeling that he was staring right at me.

I stood up quickly. "Um, I think I'm going to go take a nap," I announced, and I left Katy and Lucina staring after me quizzically.

 **DORM: SAYA'S ROOM**

I felt uncomfortable the whole walk to my room, and even once I arrived, it took a little while to calm down. Was it really only the day before that I had been outed? I had been so, so worried about that for so long, and now it just felt like it was the strangest, silliest thing to be concerned about. (I briefly imagined telling mom, and that brought a burst of oddly nostalgic anxiety.)

I lay down in bed and tried to sleep. I thought I wasn't able to, but a sudden knock on my door startled me. I glanced at the clock, and it was past 8:30... well into the first guard shift.

I blearily went to the door. "Who is it?" I called.

The answer was simple and straightforward. "Therion."

I opened the door. Therion, indeed, stood there, his big laundry cart next to him. "I need your sheets," he said.

I blinked. "Uh."

"Sheets. On bed. Bed sheets."

"No no, I get it." I pinched the ridge between my eyes. "Sorry, you woke me up. Sheets. Okay."

I started to turn to get them, but Therion just strode in and began pulling the sheets off my bed. I decided it was best not to comment. "You really have to change everyone's sheets?" I asked.

"Landry chore sucks," he answered. "Should hope you don't get it next week."

I nodded as he gathered up the white sheets in his arms, wrapped them into a bundle, and dropped them among the others in his cart. He reached in and pulled out a vacuum-packed package of new sheets, which he dropped on the floor just inside my room. "Enjoy."

"Wait." I walked closer as he raised his eyebrow at me. "Do you really think it's a bad idea to keep going to class?"

"Don't know," he replied. "Some sort of trap, but can't see it yet. Safest to avoid it." His gaze was steely but also a bit compassionate. "In my nature to try to break games. Doing what frustrates the bear is probably good."

I frowned. "I'm think it's safest to stick together, whatever we do."

He positioned himself behind the cart and shrugged. "Both wrong, probably. Nothing close to safe here." He waved. "Good night." He strained against the cart, lurching it forward down the hall. I watched him go, my unease returning, before stepping back into my room and closing the door behind me.

* * *

After opening up the package of sheets and halfheartedly putting them on the bed, I lay back down. But, not half an hour later, I got another knock on the door. Feeling cranky, I got up and walked over to the entrance. "Who is it?"

"DJ Rocky K, repping NYC!"

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. Rocky kept to himself, but he was usually nice. I felt it was important to be as warm as I could towards him. I opened the door.

He stood there, headphones around his neck, the battered vacuum next to him. "Yo, gotta do your room!" he announced.

"Hey. Um, listen, I was just lying down for a nap. Does it have to be now?"

He squinted thoughtfully. "Guess not? I gotta come back anyway, because not everyone's in their rooms. It's really annoying to have to catch everyone at home to get in."

I sighed. "Yeah. Okay, this is easiest, c'mon in."

Grinning he stepped in, then pulled his headphones over his ears and plugged the vacuum cleaner into the wall. He quickly cleaned the floor of my bedroom and of the chess room (very sloppily, I noted). I sat there trying to be as polite as possible. I did have to admit, it was kind of endearing how he bopped around to the music as he worked.

He pulled off his headphones and unplugged the vacuum. "Hey dude," he said as he wound up the cord. "Wanted to say sorry about earlier. I toldja, I get all mad sometimes."

"It's okay. I'm just... worried about what'll happen with these secrets."

"What, murder?" He laughed, heading to the door. "No one's dumb enough to murder anyone. I know because I'm the dumbest guy here, and I wouldn't do it."

"Oh, you're not the dumbest guy here," I said habitually.

"No, I am," he insisted jovially. "But it's cool! Being dumb helps sometimes." He pulled open the door and strode out into the hall, waving goodbye as the door closed behind him.

 **DORM: UPSTAIRS HALLWAY**

I managed to get a little more sleep before it was time for my shift. I was surprised to find JP approaching me, waving. "Hey," he said. "I'm your partner tonight. Nicole wanted to switch, so you gotta deal with me."

I frowned. "Did she say why?"

"Nope! Figured she was just tired. Hey, you think I got a chance?"

I blinked. "Uh, with Nicole? I don't know, she's pretty hard to figure out."

"Dude, I'm into that!" JP held his hand up, and I realized after a moment he wanted me to give him a high five. I complied, and his face lit up with joy. "You'll help me out with the girls around here, right? I figure you can give me some tips."

I could not help but let a small smile slip out. "I don't know what I can do, but sure."

JP and I chatted for a bit, then split up and half-heartedly 'patrolled' the hallway. The 'east' elevator... the one that was closer to my room... wasn't used once that I saw. JP told me that the 'west' elevator opened up once when Bepi came up for bed after a late-night workout.

About an hour into our shift, I heard a commotion from down the hallway. I ran towards it, finding, to my surprise, JP standing there looking uncomfortable and Monokuma wagging a paw at him.

"And just what are you doing?" Monokuma snapped. "Two guards must be in the hallway at all times!"

I realized JP was standing outside his own room. "Dude, but I gotta take a piss!" he wailed. "What am I supposed to do!"

Monokuma pulled out a red, plastic beer cup and tossed it to JP. "Your kind adviser has thought of that. Aren't I generous?"

"You seriously want him to go in that?" I asked. "What's he supposed to do afterwards?"

"Your problem, not mine!" And he disappeared.

JP sighed and picked up the cup. "Whatever. It's not the first time I've used one of these." He grinned at me. "You ever played Beer-Beer-Piss?"

"That's the worst thing anyone has ever asked me," I replied dryly.

"No, it's fun! You just take some cups, and some of them you fill up with beer..."

"Yes, I can figure out the basic gist from context clues, thanks."

"It takes strategy! You gotta..." JP suddenly stopped and sniffed. "Huh. You smell that?"

I did smell something, a dark, ashy smell. Glancing at each other, we went down the hallway around the corner toward the west elevator. I was not prepared for what was there.

A metal waste basket sat directly in front of the elevator, smoke spewing out of it. Whatever was in there was on fire.

"Shit!" JP yelled. "What the hell?!" He stripped off his shirt and tossed it into the waste basket. He shrieked as his shirt caught fire. "Aaa! What do we do!?"

The door nearest to the elevator opened up and Therion stuck his head out, looking very annoyed. "What is going on out here?"

"There's a fire!" I yelped. "Fill up a pot with water and bring it back!" Grumbling, he disappeared into his room, then a minute later reappeared with a pot of water that he handed to me. I poured the water onto the fire, thankfully extinguishing it.

We coughed as the smoke plumed out. As it cleared, I picked up the waste basket and dumped it out onto the floor. Water and ash and cloth spilled out.

The door to the next room also opened, Bepi stepping into the hallway wearing his typical daytime uniform. "You having a party out here, JP?" he asked.

I squatted down to look at the remains of what was in the waste basket. "Someone set this on fire," I explained. "It's... T-shirts." Besides JP's, it looked like there were three or four in there. I pulled one out. It was charred, but Monokuma's grinning face was clearly plastered on it. "Like... university T-shirts."

Therion grunted and shut the door closed. Bepi sighed. "The vandal. More of his schtick attacking the university. I appreciate the message, but... I dunno, I don't get modern art."

"Do you sleep in your cadet uniform?" I asked. He replied with a cranky grumble and walked back into his room.

I gathered up the mess and put it back into the basket as best as I could. "I guess he must have lit it, then jumped right into the elevator," I mused. "This guy's starting to get on my nerves."

I looked up and saw JP was gone and I had been talking to nobody. "Um, hello?" I called, with no response.

I waited an awkward couple of minutes, then walked down the hallway cautiously. As I neared the east elevator, I was JP walking confidently towards me. "Oh hey," he said. "Sorry, you seemed to have that fire thing under control and I really had to take a piss."

"Oh, yeah." I blinked. "Uh, where's the cup?"

JP didn't answer.

"Um, JP? Where's the cup?"

"Dude, I didn't know what to do with it! So, I... um. I put it on the other elevator and just sent it down."

"You..." I trailed off and sighed. "There's just a cup of urine riding up and down the elevator now?"

"What was I supposed to do, leave it in the middle of the floor?" He threw his hands up in the air in exasperation. "I'll just blame it on Morgan."

"Hm. That's not a terrible idea, actually." I thought for a moment. "I don't think you have a chance with Nicole if she finds out you did this."

"See?" He grinned, all weirdness just totally gone from his expression. "This is good! Dudes need someone to tell them these things!"

"If you say so." But once again, his charm was infectious. I couldn't help smiling.

The rest of the shift proceeded uneventfully. I said hello to the early risers (Ashley, Guiseppe, Jane, and Nicole) but there was nothing particularly unusual.

When the sun came up, I surprised myself by not being particularly sleepy, so I decided to head over to the gym for a workout before breakfast.

 **DORM: ENTRANCE LOBBY**

On my way out of the building, I was stopped by a surprising sight. The previously abandoned information desk was now occupied. Jane sat there, looking extremely bored.

"Oh, hello," she said, contempt just oozing out of her voice. "Do you need any information about the campus?"

I looked at her blankly. "...Can you _provide_ any information about the campus?"

"Oh, well, there's a charming cup of liquid waste on the elevator. Would you like to hear all about that?"

I scratched the back of my head in confusion. "Is this your chore?" I asked.

"No, darling. I sit here every other day in the godforsaken bleak hours of the morning for my entertainment." She glowered up at me. "That was sarcasm."

"I know it was sarcasm," I snapped, annoyed. Then I instantly felt bad. "Sorry." She just grunted.

I sighed. "Jane..." I wondered if this was worth mentioning, but given the circumstances it just felt so stupid to have unnecessary conflict. "Listen, I know I'm not a scientist or whatever, but can't you try to get along with everybody?"

"Why should I?" she asked, completely unruffled. "You're already going 'round trying to be everyone's best friend. We already have a canary in our little coal mine."

I pulled back, confused. "Canary?"

"The first murder victim, of course." She picked at a piece of lint on her glove. "Why should I let myself grow close to the one person foolish enough to go off alone with anyone and everyone?"

My mouth felt dry. "Murder..." I swallowed. "You think I'm going to get murdered?"

"It's logical. Simply a matter of killing two birds, darling." Her eyes were hard and vicious. "So many people have so much opportunity to do you in. But also, cute little Saya, everyone's friend, getting killed? How demoralizing! How can we rationally investigate when our best friend is gone?" She laughed humorlessly. "Everyone knows it'll be you." She sat back and smirked. "Well, look at me, providing information after all."

I felt my eyes well up with tears of anger, and I spun and ran out the front doors, her mocking giggle echoing behind me.

 **STUDENT UNION: CAFETERIA**

An intense workout and a furious crying session had me feeling better, but I was still pretty terrified. I caught myself looking into rooms before walking in, locking the bathroom door before showering, and choosing a treadmill facing the entrance so I could see anyone who came in. I also caught myself feeling very stupid for not doing all of that already.

When I got to breakfast, I sat alone. Usually Bepi or Rodrigo or Katy could make me feel safer, but I was still too shaken to do much but eat scrambled eggs and fret. Lucina did give me a soft smile, though. That helped.

I did not pay much attention to the rest of the group, but I could tell we were not all in attendance. Barrett had not made his usual token appearance, the Ultimate Vandal had not come in, and, most unexpectedly, Nicole was nowhere to be seen. At Earl's request, Rodrigo left to go looking for them, but he returned several minutes later, unsuccessful.

I stood, the antsy feeling beginning to gnaw at my stomach again, and left the cafeteria.

 **STUDENT UNION: STUDENT STORES**

It did not take long for me to find what I was looking for. There was a surprisingly wide selection of stun guns, and they were much less expensive than I thought they would be. I grabbed a small, pink one and rang it up.

But I did not feel safer. That was because I remembered where Bepi had placed the machete that he'd been handling the other day. It was gone.

I tried to tell myself it was just restocked or I forgot exactly where he'd put it. It didn't work.

 **GENERAL EDUCATION BUILDING: AUDITORIUM**

I arrived not long before class was to start. I noticed Ashley in the front, groups of students spread through the room... and The Ultimate Vandal, right there in the back row. He had his head down, the black hood of his sweatshirt resting there on the desk in front of him, but I don't think he was sleeping. His breathing was odd, hitching, and violent.

Trying to put my paranoia aside, I sat down next to Bepi, who was sitting near Emily, Katy, Rodrigo, and Lucina. I hadn't known them long, but I had been thinking of this group as my friends. Was that stupid?

Monokuma suddenly appeared before us, doing a little two-step before surveying the room. "What, was there a big basketball game last night?!" he snapped. "Where is everyone? They're going to miss the most important historical events and the juiciest secrets yet!"

I scanned the room. He was right. Barrett and Rocky were missing, as usual, but so were Jane, Nicole, and Therion.

Undeterred, Monokuma launched into a lecture on the War of the Roses. It was dreadful.

This time, it went almost the whole hour and a half before the day's secret was revealed. The tension mixed with the boredom, pretty much cancelling one another out.

But still, when it happened, it was sudden and shocking. Monokuma projected a picture of a young woman I'd never seen before, sitting in a wheelchair and looking forlorn. He tittered and announced, "Emily Voss crippled a girl."

I looked over at Emily, who was frozen in terror.

"When she was nine years old," Monouma continued, "she slammed a broken door into poor little Sally's back. Poor little Sally would never walk again. Puhuhu, how cruel of her!"

The Ultimate Vandal laughed without raising his head off the desk. It was a vicious, ugly, alien sound.

Emily's mouth fell open and tears were streaming down her face. "I didn't mean to do it!" she sputtered. "The door broke off and fell on me! I was just... just trying to get clear of it!"

Monokuma shook his head. "And by coincidence, you just happened to swing it into the bully who was making your life a nightmare? Goodness, what a lucky, lucky girl you must be!"

Emily did not reply. Earl stood up. "This is unbearable!" he shouted. "We will not stand for your cruelty!"

Monokuma giggled again. "I get it! UnBEARable! Clever student! Well, if you want to make it stop, you know how!" He glanced over at the classroom clock perfunctorally. "Goodness, look at the time, we'll have to cut the lecture off there." With a cheerful dance, he disappeared.

Emily looked around at us, horrified and sobbing. "I didn't mean it!" she bawled. "I really didn't!"

Juliet moved first, jumping to her feet and rushing over to Emily, embracing her. Bepi stood, disgusted. "Come on, let's get out of here, he grunted." We filed out of the classroom, Emily's sobs the only sound.

 **GENERAL EDUCATION BUILDING: ENTRANCE HALL**

We stood outside the auditorium awkwardly. Juliet held Emily while she cried; Lucina, Katy, and Rodrigo stood nearby. Earl argued with Bepi and JP, off to the side.

"I don't recall what happened," Emily blubbered. "The doctor said I had a concussion. But I wouldn't! I wouldn't do that!"

"I know, dear," Juliet cooed, patting Emily's hair.

"This is not worth it," Bepi was saying. "We can't keep doing this. This is getting more and more dangerous."

"We just need to stand together!" Earl maintained.

I felt awkward, but I also didn't know what else to do. I felt so bad for poor Emily, but the terrified, sick feeling in my chest was back. I stood near the closed door leading to the auditorium, just taking in the scene. For several minutes, I didn't know what to do.

That was when I heard the thump. It came from behind me, in the auditorium, not very loud but definitely something. I thought about speaking up, but it felt cruel to interrupt Emily's care with something I could just look into myself.

I slowly, uncomfortably, turned and stepped into the auditorium.

 **GENERAL EDUCATION BUILDING: AUDITORIUM**

As I entered the room, there was no movement, and at first I thought it was empty. But then I noticed, sitting in that same seat in the back row, was The Ultimate Vandal. He was sitting up now, the hoodie covering most of his features, his hands gripping the desk in front of him.

I didn't know why, but I felt like there were bees in my head. I gripped the stun gun I had bought and slowly walked towards him.

"What was that sound?" I asked. He did not respond. "Come on," I said, trying and failing to convince myself to be annoyed, "stop being all mysterious."

I walked up the aisle, getting closer and closer, and he still hadn't moved. "Vandal?" I said. He stared straight ahead. Furious terror whooshed in my ears.

I reached out and put my hand on his shoulder, shaking him gently. "...Morgan?"

He pitched forward onto the desk, and... something... fell out of his sweatshirt and landed in the aisle. It began rolling awkwardly down towards the front of the room.

I stared at it dumbly, somehow not able to interpret what I was looking at. Whatever it was, it had beautiful, multicolored strands of hair.

Like a magic eye picture, it came into view. A head. Morgan's staring, gruesome head.

I screamed.


	10. Economics of Labor I: Part D

_Q: Tell me about your parents.  
_ _UV: I don't have parents. They're his parents.  
_ _Q: Fine. Tell me about them.  
_ _UV: Idiots. They told him he could be anything. So he got it into his head he would be a painter. It was all he wanted, and every day, people would tell him how shitty his paintings were. And he acted like it didn't bother him. Just trusting someday someone would 'get it.' No anger, just... smiling.  
_ _Q: Were you his anger? Is that where you came from?  
_ _UV: I'm his reality. If you suck at everything, then you're shit. That's the rules.  
_ _Q: You blame his parents for all of it?  
_ _UV: They shouldn't have had a kid if they weren't able to deal with reality.  
_ _Q: Your pieces started out completely mysterious, but recently you've been leaving clues as to your identity._ _That's how the university found you, in fact._ _  
_ _UV:_ [laughs] _Yep.  
_ _Q: Why did you start doing this? Why did you want to be found, when the mysteriousness of your work is what drew so much attention in the first place?  
_ _UV: Had to be exposed, eventually. If he's shit, then so am I._

* * *

 **GENERAL EDUCATION BUILDING: AUDITORIUM**

I don't really remember the next few minutes; it was just a jumble of horrified faces, shrieking voices, and dizziness. I was not sure exactly how much time had passed by the time I got some degree of sense of my own body, sitting against the wall, shivering, eyes burning.

Person-shaped images darted here and there in the background, but one face suddenly came into focus, just near my own. It was Giuseppe.

"Saya," he was saying. "Are you with me?"

I opened my mouth but could not speak. A sob came out instead.

"I know," he said. "I know. But I need you with me. Okay? I need you to get it together."

"Why?" I was able to rasp.

"Because you can do what we need to do." He glanced to the side. "And listen. You are one of the very few people here I trust."

My head lolled to the side. There was a headless body over there in one of the auditorium seats, stiffly draped across its desk. I felt my breathing speed up.

Bepi turned my head so I was looking at him. "No. Get with me. Talk to me. Okay? Talk to me about chess. What's it take to be good at chess?"

"I... what? I..."

"Just answer the question without thinking. No pauses. What's it take to be good at chess?"

"Um... practice." I surprised myself by having an answer just come out of me. "So much of it is just memorization. You learn the patterns from experience. It's heuristics."

"That's it? That's all it takes to be good at chess?"

"Yeah." My vision began to focus more; colors got sharper. "That's all it takes to be good. But to be _great_ at chess, you also just need to be a genius."

He smiled wanly. "Monokuma called everyone here and told us we need to investigate this. Okay? We need _you_ to investigate this. Our lives are on the line. We need to figure out who did this. Do you understand?"

I paused as the world very briefly flickered, then I nodded. "Yes."

"Okay." He nodded too. "Do me a favor. Close your eyes and take a deep breath. And then, when you open your eyes, you'll be ready. You can do that."

I closed my eyes and tried to quiet my emotions and unclench my muscles. I didn't think I could do it, but very suddenly, like a switch being flicked, I was there. Bepi was right; I'd learned this in tournaments, and I could use it now.

I opened my eyes and stood up. My feelings were still there, and they were still screaming, but I could ignore them.

Earl was trying to keep order, barking commands that were being largely ignored. All of my classmates were here, and it was chaos. I walked to him, Bepi following behind me.

Earl looked relieved when he saw me. He was keeping his posture straight and even, but there was sweat on his forehead and fear in his eyes I'd not seen before. "Wilde. I'm glad you're back with us." He threw his hands in the air helplessly. "We need to act and keep order, but this is madness."

"People need jobs to do," I said. "Some people are too emotional to be any help right now. Someone needs to take care of them."

"And we need to preserve the crime scene," Bepi added. "It'd be easy for the culprit to alter evidence with all this chaos."

Earl nodded, some of the confidence coming back into his face. "Diaz!" he barked, calling Rodrigo over. The paladin came, looking shaken but still rational. "Mountebank, Voss, and Laettner are hysterical. Please take them outside and care for them until they are calm."

Rodrigo nodded. He gathered Juliet, Emily, and JP and took them out the main doors. I noticed Lucina insisted on going with them, holding Emily's hand as they left.

The room was much quieter; Emily had been hysterically sobbing. Ashley came up to us, shivering very slightly but otherwise looking the same as always. "No one should be alone!" she announced, placing herself next to Earl. "It minimizes the risk of evidence contamination!"

Earl nodded. "Suarez!" Therion looked up at him blankly. "You stay with Coelho and guard this crime scene! I will lead one team of investigators and Wilde will lead another!"

Ashley frowned. "I don't think..."

"It is an excellent plan!" Earl bellowed, thrusting a fist into the air. "Let us form teams and disperse!"

"Wait!" I called. I stepped forward, glaring at Nicole and Barrett, both of whom looked relatively unaffected by the gore. "You weren't at breakfast this morning. Where were you?"

Nicole scratched her head. "Oh yeah! I knew I forgot about something. I was heading to breakfast, but on the way, I ran into this dude." She pointed at Barrett. "We hung out in my room until Monokuma told us to come here. He..."

"Don't!" Barrett snapped.

"What?" Nicole snapped back. "It was super helpful. He modelled for me."

Not even my present state of emotional control could stop me from being surprised by this. "What?"

"Fuck no!" Barrett yelled. "I was... blowing shit up!"

"You were trying on pants I'd designed and looking awesome," Nicole corrected.

"I was blowing up... orphans!" Barrett growled. "Because I'm hardcore. But if I was trying on pants, then fuck yes, they looked awesome on me." He flexed slightly.

"But you were together the whole time?" I asked, receiving nods from both of them as a response. "When was the last time you saw Morgan?"

Nicole played awkwardly with the spool of thread attached to her belt. "Dinner last night, I guess?" Barrett just shrugged.

* * *

 **FACT 1: Nicole and Barrett's testimony** _  
Nicole and Barrett say they spent the whole morning together. They claim to not have seen Morgan since last night.  
_

* * *

I nodded. "Before we disperse, let me put that question to the whole room. Did anyone see Morgan after the sun went down but before class this morning? Therion, Rocky... did he let you into his room to vacuum or change the sheets?"

I glanced around, almost everyone either shaking their heads to murmuring a no. The lone exception was Katy, who shakingly put her hand in the air. "Um. I saw him this morning."

"You did? When?"

"Just before breakfast." Katy hugged herself. "I was leaving my room, and he just ran right past me. It was really weird, so I followed him, just in time to see the door to his room slam. I knocked, but he didn't respond, so I just left." She shivered. "I probably could have stopped this."

"I think only the killer could have stopped this," I replied.

"How did he look?" Therion asked. "Sick or frightened?"

Katy shrugged. "I couldn't tell; he had that stupid hoodie on. I didn't really see his face."

* * *

 **FACT 2: Katy's testimony** _  
Katy says she saw Morgan before breakfast. He ran past her in the upstairs hallway and into his room but wouldn't respond when she knocked. Everyone else we asked says they haven't seen him since dinner and haven't been in his room.  
_

* * *

"That's strange," Bepi said, frowning. "We should ask the others when we get a chance."

I nodded. "We need to stop beating around the bush and investigate," I said. "Bepi, Katy, can you help me?"

Katy looked surprised, but they both came forward. We shared a look, mostly to delay things for just another moment. Then, taking deep breaths, we began.

"Just to make sure we're all on the same page," Bepi said. "There's three exits to the auditorium. There's the main exit, the side exit, which leads down to the tunnel elevator, and that door in the back just behind Morgan's body goes to a little A/V room."

"Right," Katy confirmed. "We all went out the main door after class to be with Emily, and we hung out there for about… I don't know, five minutes maybe, at most. So whoever killed him must have left through the side doors and gone down into the tunnel." She shuddered. "That's so terrifying, that just on the other side of a door, someone was doing…" she glanced at the headless body, "…that."

"The bear sent us an email about things," Bepi explained. "You were kinda out of it when it happened, understandably."

I pulled out my tablet and noticed there was a new email, with the subject line, _BODY DISCOVERY ANNOUNCEMENT_

I poked it and read the message: _The victims are Morgan Lee and The Ultimate Vandal. The body was discovered at 11:58 a.m. The body's head and right index finger have been severed. There were no other cuts on the body. The body contained no traces of poison or venom._

I blinked. This information was not particularly useful, but there was one surprising element. I walked to the body in the back row of the classroom. It sat there, hunched over, the hood obscuring the missing head.

Taking a deep breath, I sat the body up in the chair, struggling slightly to bend it. I lowered the hood, exposing the... neck hole. I was taking all of this very well.

I did my best to examine the body, but I wasn't sure what to look for. I noticed Bepi was examining the head, which had rolled all the way down to the front of the room, but Katy had followed me and was standing awkwardly, trying to avoid looking closely at the body.

"The report is right," I mused. "His finger is missing."

* * *

 **FACT 3: Missing finger** _  
Morgan's right index finger was missing from his body when it was found.  
_

* * *

"Guck," Katy replied. "Um. Can you tell anything else?"

I frowned. "There's... surprisingly little blood." I rubbed my fingers across the cloth of the hoodie. "It's on the neck and hood of the sweatshirt, and a little dripped on the desk, but it's not all over the place."

* * *

 **FACT 4: Bloodstains on body** _  
There was not much blood on the body. The neck and hood of the Morgan's sweatshirt were bloody, and some was on the desk the body was found on, but it hadn't gotten anywhere else.  
_

* * *

"I'm happy that I don't really have the concept of 'surprisingly little blood," Katy replied. "But what does it mean that he wasn't covered in it?"

"I don't want to make any conclusions now," I said. "Let's just try to objectively collect evidence and not draw conclusions until we have everything."

Bepi returned from examining the head. "I couldn't tell much," he reported. "Just that whoever decapitated him didn't have a very easy time of it."

"Oh god, how could you even tell that?" Katy asked.

"It wasn't a smooth cut," Bepi answered. "Several chops; it looked like the first few were hesitant and shallow. And look at this." He indicated the neck on the body, which had odd, discolored marks next to the cuts. "I don't think these marks came from a blade."

* * *

 **FACT 5: Morgan's decapitation** _  
The wounds on Morgan's neck suggest it took several slices to cut the head off. There were also discolored marks that looked unrelated to the decapitation.  
_

* * *

"Hm," I said, noticing something else. "Look at the bloodstains on his neck. See that?" I indicated the area I meant. There was a very subtle pattern of the bloodstains; a very fine matte. "It's like someone dabbed a sponge on it, or something."

* * *

 **FACT 4: Bloodstains on body (REVISED)** _  
There was not much blood on the body. The neck and hood of the Morgan's sweatshirt were bloody, and some was on the desk the body was found on, but it hadn't gotten anywhere else. Some of the blood had an odd pattern to it, like it had been dabbed with a sponge or rag.  
_

* * *

I frowned. "Okay." I noticed the door in the back of the room. "You said that led to a projector room?" Bepi nodded. "I want to see if anything's there."

I noticed they were fully acting like my sidekicks or assistants or something. I felt a weird burst of power. We headed to the door and went inside.

 **GENERAL EDUCATION BUILDING: PROJECTOR ROOM**

"Welp," Bepi said.

"Yup," I replied.

There was a bloody machete lying right there on the floor of the projector room. I knelt down and examined it more closely. "Is this the one you showed me and Juliet in the store?"

"I think so," Bepi replied grimly.

"The blood is really dark," Katy observed, still standing back a foot or so. "Is that weird?"

Bepi shook his head. "Blood gets darker and stickier as it dries."

"There still isn't very much of it," I said. "Not even on the machete itself. No big pools of blood or anything anywhere."

* * *

 **FACT 6: Bloody machete** _  
A bloody machete was in the projector room near where Morgan's body was found. Most of the blood on the blade had dried, and there was not blood anywhere else in the room.  
_

* * *

Bepi squatted down over the machete. "Look at this," he said, beckoning us over. He gently pressed his finger against the side of the blade. "I'm pretty sure this is the same one, but that was brand new. But look at this. The blade's damaged."

I felt it with my finger; part of the machete blade was indeed bent, as if it had been struck against something hard at least once.

* * *

 **FACT 6: Bloody machete (REVISED)** _  
A bloody machete was in the projector room near where Morgan's body was found. Most of the blood on the blade had dried, and there was not blood anywhere else in the room. The blade of the machete was damaged, as if it had been struck against something hard.  
_

* * *

I stood up. "Where do you think we should check next?"

"We should check the other way out, right?" Katy spoke up. "Most of us went out the front doors after class, so if there was someone else, they had to have left through the tunnel."

I nodded. "Maybe. Worth checking, at least." We left the projector room and headed downstairs.

 **GENERAL EDUCATION ROOM: FIRST FLOOR HALLWAY**

As we descended the stairs to the hallway, I noticed something very different than when I had been here before. There was a can of paint open and on its side. A large puddle of white paint covered the middle of the hallway. There were footprints leading from the puddle, down the hallway, past the doors to the storage closets and laundry room, straight to the elevator at the end.

"Whoa," Katy muttered. "Weird."

We stepped around the puddle of white paint, examining the footprints. "They're... very small," Bepi observed.

He was right. The footprints cleanly showed the even pace of very tiny little soles, fading as they approached the elevator.

* * *

 **FACT 7: Paint in hallway** _  
The hallway in the education building had spilled paint in it. Very small footprints led from the paint to the elevator.  
_

* * *

"This must be where they made their escape," Katy said. She walked to the elevator and pushed the button. After a short wait, the bell dinged and the doors opened.

There was one more set of footprints in the elevator, along with a very small running shoe. I examined the shoe; it looked new and unscuffed, but there was indeed paint on the sole. "Looks like it matches the prints," I said.

* * *

 **FACT 8: Running shoe** _  
There was a single running shoe in the elevator. Its sole matched the footprints.  
_

* * *

We got on the elevator; I pushed the button and we descended. "This leads to the tunnel, which leads to every other building on the quad," Bepi mused. "It'd be easy to escape this way."

 **UNDERGROUND TUNNEL: GENERAL EDUCATION BUILDING ENTRANCE**

The elevator doors opened, revealing the familiarly dark and creepy tunnel. We turned on the flashlight functions on our tablets and stepped out of the elevator.

The first thing I noticed was a second shoe: the pair of the first one.

* * *

 _ **FACT 8: Running shoes (REVISED)**_ _  
There was a single running shoe in the elevator. Its sole matched the footprints. The other shoe was found just outside the elevator in the tunnel.  
_

* * *

"So... weird," Katy mused. "One of them was left in the elevator, and the other one was left just outside the elevator? Why would someone do that?" I glanced at her; I thought it was a neutral look, but she blushed and rubbed the back of her head. "...No interpretation, right."

We continued down the hallway, halfway expecting the killer to loom up out of the darkness and come after us at any moment.

 **UNDERGROUND TUNNEL: JUNCTION**

As we neared the well-lit junction of the tunnel, Bepi seemed to have had enough. "Ugh, I hate this place," he muttered. "You know it doesn't have to be this creepy. Monokuma probably designed it to-WAUGH!" With a shout, he comically flailed his arms and fell down onto his backside.

I jumped, and I felt my feet skirting smoothly across the floor. "Wha!" I managed to keep my balance, but only after a moment of disorientation that reminded me my one and only attempt to rollerblade.

"What the hell!" Bepi yelled. "Goddamn, the floor's slippery as hell." He rubbed his fingers against the floor, then smelled his hand. "It's soap." He shined his flashlight around the junction. "Whole place is slick with soapiness."

"Hey, look at this," Katy said, sliding closer to the drain in the center of the junction. She shone her light on a metal bucket, lying on its side. "Looks like there's some soapy water still left in it," she said.

* * *

 **FACT 9: Soap in junction** _  
The floor of the underground junction was slippery from soap. A bucket was found nearby which looks like it was recently filled with soapy water.  
_

* * *

Katy slid over to Bepi, reach down, and gracefully pulled him to his feet. "Jesus," he mused, "where'd you get such good balance?"

She grinned and twirled in a quick circle. "I was a figure skater when I was a kid! I'll teach you, if you want."

"I'll hold you to that, if we get out of here," Bepi grunted, rubbing his sore butt. "Is there anything else weird here?"

We shone our flashlights around for a few moments, scanning the space for anything unusual. I was about to give up, but then I noticed something strange in the floor near the drain.

I knelt down and ran my fingers across the floor. "Hey, look at this," I said. "It's some kind of... divot."

The others squatted next to me. There was a narrow mark in the floor, a couple of inches long, like something had chipped away the cement. "I have no idea if that was there before or not," Bepi said. "I think... wait." He reached down and pulled out a raggedy thread. He shone his light on it; it was mostly dark red, but on one end, it was white.

* * *

 **FACT 10: Mark on floor** _  
There was a dent on the floor of the junction where it looks like something chipped away the cement. Inside the dent, there was a raggedy thread, which was mostly dark red but faded to white on one end.  
_

* * *

"It might not be important," Bepi said. "Who knows how long this has even been here."

I nodded. "Still, good eye to notice it." I stood and regarded each of the four hallways branching out into the darkness. "If someone did run this way, I don't see any way of knowing which way they went. Any ideas?"

"Let's go to the dorm," Bepi said. "It'd be a good idea to check Morgan's room, anyway."

I nodded, secretly relieved to get out of the underground tunnel. We carefully walked straight ahead towards the elevator to the dorm.

 **DORM: COMPUTER LAB**

We emerged from the elevator to a small hallway, which led us into the computer lab. We quickly searched, but none of us had been in there much, so we didn't know what might be unusual. As we searched, Katy looked over at me hesitantly. "Saya, may I ask a quick question?"

I glanced up from the trash can I was rifling through. "Yeah?"

She played with one of the long tails of her hair. "Why did you ask me to come investigate with you?"

"Hmm?" I blinked at her, confused. "Why wouldn't I?"

"Well... I get Giuseppe. He's your sidekick." At his glare, she shrugged. "Or you're his sidekick, whatever."

"I don't think anyone is anyone's sidekick…"

"Whatever. But… why did you pick me?"

"I thought you could help. And I thought we'd all work well together." I tilted my head at her, confused. "Why are you asking?"

"I don't know. People don't usually take me very seriously, is all. They think I don't notice, but I do."

I shrugged. "Well, they're dumb. We take you seriously." Bepi nodded.

Katy looked down, blushing. "Okay. Well, thanks."

I wasn't sure what to say to any of this. "Well. Let's get moving, all right?"

 **DORM: ENTRANCE LOBBY**

I involuntarily shuddered as we stepped into the lobby, remembering Jane's... warning? threat?... whatever it was. Bepi glanced at me, concerned. "You okay?"

"Oh... yeah." I nodded at the information desk. "I just ran into Jane this morning. She... said some stuff."

He nodded. "Yeah, when she got off her 'shift,' right before breakfast, I tried walking over to the cafeteria with her. She made it pretty clear she was not very interested in being friends."

Katy walked over to the solarium and peeked inside. "I don't think anyone went in here," she announced. "Me and Lucina hung out in there last night, and it looks exactly the same as when we left."

I looked at her, feeling tension in my forehead. "You and Lucina?"

"Yeah, we sat right there," she said, pointing to a nearby tuft of grass.

Bepi seemed to notice my distraction, so he spoke up. "When were you there?"

Katy tapped her chin in thought. "Um, from sevenish to... eleven, maybe?"

"And you were sitting right there, facing the glass wall?" Bepi indicated the wall separating the lobby from the solarium. "Did you see Morgan?"

Katy shook her head. "Um, maybe right after dinner, heading upstairs. But definitely not after that."

Bepi scanned the room. "Interesting. No matter which elevator you use, there's no way to go to or from the dorm rooms without going through this room. And since there were guards in the hallway all night, that means there was someone keeping watch from the end of dinner all the way to the beginning of breakfast."

* * *

 **FACT 11: Lobby witnesses** _  
Katy and Lucina could see the lobby all evening; Katy thinks she may have seen Morgan going upstairs early and not afterwards. Jane was at the information desk from before sun-up to the start of breakfast. They would have seen anything suspicious in the lobby during that time.  
_

* * *

"Let's come down and search the solarium if we have time," Bepi said. "I definitely want to make sure to look at Morgan's room." He paused, staring at me. "Um, right, Saya?"

I blinked. "Oh. Yeah. Good idea." We went to the west elevator and headed upstairs.

 **DORM: UPSTAIRS HALLWAY**

After a familiarly interminable elevator ride, the doors finally opened and we stepped out into the hallway. Katy blinked in surprise and pointed to the trash can, sitting upright where I'd put it next to the wall. "Oh, I was wondering. What is this thing?"

"Oh, right." I knelt over the trash can; the same mix of ashes and semi-burnt T-shirts were wadded up inside. "Someone set a bunch of T-shirts on fire in the middle of the night last night. Me and JP had to come try to put it out."

Bepi frowned. "I assumed Morgan did it, but I don't think anyone actually saw, right?"

I nodded. "It fits him, but we don't know for sure."

* * *

 **FACT 12: Burning T-shirts** _  
Someone set a fire in a trash can at around 2:30 last night, right outside the west elevator. JP and I both came to try to extinguish it.  
_

* * *

We continued down the hall, around the first corner, to the middle, where Morgan's room was. I'd been worried about getting inside, but there was a sign attached to the door: _Murder victims don't get privacy!_ and then a winky face and Monokuma's signature.

We glanced darkly at one another. "Oh, I've been wondering something," Bepi said. "Katy, you said you saw Morgan go upstairs after dinner, but not come back down, right?"

Katy nodded. "People were walking in and out of the lobby all evening, but I definitely would have noticed if that creep was one of them."

Bepi rubbed his chin in thought. "So, did he ever go back downstairs?" He looked at me. "Would it be possible for him to get out of this room and to an elevator without any of the guards noticing?"

I looked back and forth down the hallway. "I guess it's possible," I said. "We mostly just kind of walk around. When we stay still, it's usually right around here. But the farther away from the elevators, the harder it'd be, and this room is right in the middle. Unless something weird was happening, you'd have to be really lucky to sneak in or out of here without running into at least one of us."

* * *

 **FACT 13: Morgan's room** _  
Morgan's room is near the middle of the hallway, directly between the two elevators. It's possible but very unlikely someone could sneak out to an elevator without being noticed during the night.  
_

* * *

 **DORM: MORGAN'S ROOM**

We surveyed the messy room carefully. "I was here yesterday," I said. "I... tried to talk to the vandal. He wasn't very helpful."

"Do you notice anything different from when you were here?" Katy asked.

I looked around carefully. I felt like some things were different, but I couldn't quite put my finger on what. "That chest of drawers," I said, pointing. "I... don't think that was there, before. It's been moved a little bit to the left."

Bepi went to the chest of drawers and shoved it over, revealing a small in the wall, like it had been hit with a foot or an elbow.

* * *

 **FACT 14: Dent in wall  
** _A piece of furniture was moved in Morgan's room. Behind it was a dent in the wall where something had damaged it.  
_

* * *

"Hm," Bepi said. "Yeah, I think it was a good idea to come here."

"Maybe it doesn't have to do with the murder," Katy suggested. "Maybe Rocky bumped into it vacuuming, or something."

"Therion and Rocky both said they couldn't get in here last night," I reminded her. "As far as we know, no one has been here except for the vandal after I left yesterday."

* * *

 **FACT 13: Morgan's room (REVISED)** _  
Morgan's room is near the middle of the hallway, directly between the two elevators. It's possible but very unlikely someone could sneak out to an elevator without being noticed during the night. Therion and Rocky both say they couldn't get in to do their chores last night, and it is unknown if was able to get inside other than Morgan himself.  
_

* * *

Bepi nodded. "Let's keep looking."

We searched. I looked over at the paint supplies, noting something that looked a bit out of place. I picked it up; it was a short length of bungee cord, about a foot long. "This is weird," I said.

* * *

 **FACT 15: Bungee cord** _  
There was a short length of bungee cord among Morgan's paint supplies in his room. I don't think it was there before.  
_

* * *

Bepi looked closer at the bed while Katy searched the bathroom. Bepi leaned in, thoughtfully. "Hey, check this out."

I went closer, noticing he was looking at a small speck of red on the otherwise pristine bed. "Looks like blood," he muttered. He began searching the bed more closely, eventually pushing it away from the wall to look behind and under it.

He froze, paling. I leaned in to see what he was looking at; a small, pink object lying next to the wall. "Welp," he said, "that's a finger."

It was a finger; dried blood staining the severed end. "It looks like someone tossed it over here, or something. It bounced off the bed and landed behind it."

* * *

 **FACT 16: Severed finger** _  
There was a severed finger behind Morgan's bed. It looked to have been casually discarded rather than hidden deliberately.  
_

* * *

"I can think of more disrespectful things to do with a finger," I remarked.

"Oh god please don't tell me whatever it is you guys just found," Katy said behind us. She stood in the bathroom doorway, holding a small piece of paper. "I found this," she said. "It was in the sink."

I blinked. "Inside the sink?"

"Yeah. His tablet was in there, too. It was pretty easy to find." She handed it over.

Bepi took it and we looked at it together. "It's a receipt from the student stores," I said.

Giuseppe glowered. "For the machete. Bought by The Ultimate Vandal at 3:30 last night."

* * *

 **FACT 17: Receipt** _  
A receipt from the student stores was found in Morgan's bathroom sink. It shows that The Ultimate Vandal bought the machete at 3:30 last night._

* * *

We checked a few more places but did not find any other obvious clues. "What do you think?" Giuseppe asked.

"Not sure," I replied. "I need to ask Ashley something."

They both looked surprised at this, but to my relief, they nodded.

 **DORM: UPSTAIRS HALLWAY**

We stepped out into the hallway, and Katy turned towards the east elevator. "Uh, hold on," I said. "Let's go the other way. There's a cup full of, um, urine in that elevator."

Katy blinked at me, looking appropriately baffled. "Urine? Why?" I just shrugged innocently.

* * *

 **FACT 18: Cup in east elevator**  
 _Right after JP and I extinguished the fire, he relieved himself in the cup Monokuma gave him and put it on the other elevator. I guess I'm keeping his secret about this.  
_

* * *

We walked to the west elevator; I think the others were confused about my detective technique, but thankfully, they didn't say anything.

We got onto the elevator and rode down. The slow, slow ride gave me time to think about the evidence. The pieces were almost together. Almost.

 **GENERAL EDUCATION BUILDING: AUDITORIUM**

We quickly ran back to the auditorium. Ashley looked rather unhappy at having to sit there with a dead body, but Therion seemed as unflappable as always.

Ashley walked right up to us, hands on her hips. "Well?" she asked.

"Um, we found some clues," I replied. "But I wanted to ask you something."

She blinked. "Me?"

I nodded. "You come to class early, right? Did you see Morgan come in today, or was he already here when you arrived?"

"I wasn't as early as I'd hoped today," she answered, frowning. "After we all dispersed from breakfast, I had a planning conversation with Earl, so I was only able to be ten minutes early. And yes, he was already here." She pointed to his headless body. "Sitting there with his head on the desk like a weirdo. Dumb murdered weirdo."

* * *

 **FACT 19: Ashley's testimony** _  
Ashley says she arrived at class ten minutes before it started, and Morgan was already there, his head already down on the desk like it was the whole class.  
_

* * *

"Okay," I said. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. "One more question. Was anyone late to breakfast this morning, or did they leave breakfast early?"

"No one was late," Therion replied. "Not more than five minutes or so. Important?"

I crossed my arms, thinking. "Maybe. Did anyone leave early?"

"Just you," Therion said. "Looked upset. Everyone else stayed until… fifteen minutes before class starts. Approximately."

Ashley shrilly spoke up. "Rodrigo left to go look for the others, but that was just five minutes or so."

* * *

 **FACT 20: Breakfast** _  
Nicole, Barrett, and Morgan were missing from breakfast this morning. Everyone else arrived basically on time. Rodrigo left at one point but then returned after five minutes. Except for me, no one left early; everyone else stayed in the cafeteria until fifteen minutes before the start of class.  
_

* * *

I nodded my head sharply. "All right. I think I know who did it."

"What?!" Katy nearly fell over in her shock. "How could you..."

But she was interrupted by a loud burst of static from hidden speakers. "Attention!" Monokuma's voice announced. "Your investigation period has ended! Please report to the main quad!"

Bepi gave me an odd look. "Well, I hope you're on the right track, because I have no idea. Are you ready for the trial?"

"The one where, if we're wrong, we all die?"

"Yes. That one."

I found myself somehow smiling. "I think I am."

 **MAIN QUAD**

We all convened in the quad. I looked around at my classmates, a bedraggled, tense group of kids. One of us was a murderer, I thought. One of us was trying to get the rest of us killed.

I noticed Emily, who was no longer crying, but who looked absolutely ruined. Lucina stood by her, hand on her shoulder, doing the best she could. I walked over to them and did my best to appear confident. "It'll be okay," I told them.

With a jaunty spring, Monokuma appeared, balancing on top of the monolith. He whacked his paw against the top of the sculpture, and a rumbling gradually built and built under our feet. With some sort of amazing, futuristic technology, the monolith rose and shifted into a large box featuring elevator doors.

The doors opened. "Please step inside!" Monokuma announced. "Trial grounds are below! Time to see if you spoiled babies can handle yourselves in the real world!"

Grimly, we filed into the elevator, and with a jerking groan, it began to descend.

My life was really, truly, on the line. God help me, I was kind of exhilarated.

* * *

 _Author's note:_

 _Okay, there's your first investigation. I put a lot of work into making the mystery fair and solvable at this point (though it might also be difficult!). A warning: "Fact" items (mostly in the investigation, but also from previous chapters) are meant to be useful at helping you wrap your mind around everything and keep track of things concisely, but they are NOT like "truth bullets" in the sense that they are necessarily ALL the information you need to_ fully prove _the identity of the murderer._

 _Any guesses?_


	11. Economics of Labor I: Part E

I was imagining a literal courtroom, like you see on SVU or something, but instead the elevator doors opened to reveal a giant, dusty room. The walls were lined with enormous shelves with very old-looking books, and there was gothic-looking architecture: bannisters and buttresses. It looked all old and wooden... kind of Harry Potter-y.

But in the middle of the room was a huge circle of lecterns, and they looked sleek and ultra-modern. The effect would have been jarring, but nothing was affecting me too strongly right now. I was thinking too hard about how to make my case.

There was one thing I was missing; one thing that tied it all together... a piece of evidence we never found. Would I be able to convince everyone without it?

Monokuma led us each to stand behind a lectern, so we could all see one another's faces as we stood in a circle. I wondered what I looked like to the murderer.

There was one empty lectern. Above it hung a black-and-white photograph of Morgan's face. There was a purple X over it, presumably indicating that he was deceased.

A _purple_ X. I glanced at Monokuma. He got the last laugh after all.

"All right, you evil brats, this is it!" he chortled. "We are here because of the terrible murders of Morgan Lee and the Ultimate Vandal. You will have a period of time determined by my attention span to discuss the evidence! Afterwards, you will vote for the killer. If a majority of you is correct, then congratulations! You go back to your dorm, and the killer is executed. But if a majority of you is incorrect..." he giggled... "the killer will be going free, and the rest of you will be executed."

"Oh, shit!" Rocky yelped.

"If you paid attention in class, you'd already know all this," Ashley snapped. She crossed her arms and huffed. "We must be efficient and clear during this trial! We..."

"Hey," Monokuma interrupted. "I didn't say you could start yet!" He stared down at us for a silent moment.

Rodrigo cautiously raised a finger in the air. "Um, may we..."

"Shut up!" There was another silence. "All right, you may begin."

Ashley rolled her eyes. "As I was saying, we must be efficient and clear. The first thing we must do is lay out the evidence that has been collected in a concise..."

"Barrett did it!" Nicole exclaimed.

"What?!" Barrett shouted in rage, but after a moment, his expression shifted to actually looking slightly hurt. "Hey, I thought we were getting along."

"Yeah, but you're all sketch," Nicole argued.

"I think it's not very useful to throw out accusations at this point," Rodrigo said. "I was busy with protecting my fellow students, and I am not even certain of the details of this horrible crime."

"I barely even know who died!" Rocky added. "Creepy hoodie guy, right?"

"Okay, let's all get on the same page about the murder," I said. "Morgan was in class with us, sitting in the back row. He was definitely alive then. During class, Monokuma made an... announcement about Emily which she found upsetting. The rest of us went out the main doors to comfort her, but Morgan stayed in the auditorium. After about five minutes, I heard a thump come from the classroom. I went inside and found Morgan sitting in the same seat, dead."

"And his head fell off!" JP added. "Don't forget that part!"

Rodrigo frowned in thought. "It's indeed troubling such horrors could have been taking place a mere room away." His face grew dark. "I feel I know what happened. He was resting his head on the desk, lost in his own madness. The killer crept towards him, holding a broadsword. They struck! And with one clean swipe, his head was separated from his body!"

Juliet shuddered. "Then they just sat him up again like some kind of... sculpture. It's just awful."

"Uh, let's hold on a second," I said. "That's... there's a couple of things that don't add up there. First, I don't think the culprit used a broadsword. I think it's much more likely he was decapitated with..."

* * *

 **FACT 6: Bloody machete  
** _A bloody machete was in the projector room near where Morgan's body was found. Most of the blood on the blade had dried.  
_

* * *

"Doesn't that make more sense?" I continued. "The weapon we found very close to the crime scene was involved?"

Rodrigo nodded. "Aye, of course. I'm not used to a world where broadswords can't be found in every latrine and kitchen."

Therion stared blankly forward in thought. "Culprit cut his head off. Deposited the weapon. Then made escape out side door."

"Yes!" Katy agreed. "When they ran out the door, that must have been the thump that Saya heard!"

Therion nodded. "Side doors lead down to elevator. So killer's escape was through the underground tunnel."

"But who could have done that?" Juliet asked. She squinted in suspicion. "Who was in class that was missing when we were comforting Emily?"

"Well, Jane, Barrett, Nicole, Therion, and Rocky weren't in class at all," Katy said. "But I'm not sure if anyone was there but didn't go outside with the rest of us."

Earl suddenly shouted in shock. "I remember who was in class but who wasn't outside afterwards!" he bellowed. "But it's too horrible to contemplate such a possibility! It was..."

* * *

 _We stood outside the auditorium awkwardly. Juliet held Emily while she cried; Lucina, Katy, and Rodrigo stood nearby. Earl argued with Bepi and JP, off to the side.  
_

* * *

Earl pointed a finger starkly at his co-leader. "...Coelho!"

We all stared at Ashley, who just crossed her arms in irritation. "Well, yes, I correctly sensed there was no use to following the rest of you outside. I just left."

"And you went out the side door?" Bepi asked. "The one that leads to the tunnel elevator?"

"It's the only way I could have gone without bumping into your weird crying session!" Ashley snapped. "I always use the tunnel. It shaves ninety seconds off my walk to and from class."

"And did you... notice anything weird?" I asked her. "In the hallway to the elevator, or in the tunnel?"

Ashley had a slight blush on her cheeks as she glared at me. "No."

"Are you sure? No... paint?" I watched her expression carefully.

"No. You're being asinine right now."

I frowned. "After we found Morgan's body, there was something pretty weird in the tunnel leading to the elevator. It was..."

* * *

 **FACT 7: Paint in hallway  
** _The hallway in the education building had spilled paint in it. Very small footprints led from the paint to the elevator.  
_

* * *

Jane raised an eyebrow. "Very tiny footprints, hmm? How interesting."

"Yo, I'm in the clear then!" Rocky exclaimed. He threw his leg up onto his lectern proudly. "I got super big feet!"

"All of us have big feet compared to those footprints," Bepi remarked. "Except maybe one person."

Ashley turned pale. "W...wait! Think..."

"This is cold, hard evidence," Nicole interrupted. "You can't fake the size of your feet!" She shook her head ruefully. "The fashion designer who finally achieves that will have it made forever."

"Yeah," JP added. "And the rest of us definitely left. You were the only one in the classroom!"

"Well, we don't know that," Bepi pointed out. "Someone could have been hiding in the A/V room."

Nicole waved her hand dismissively. "Oh, whatever. This isn't complicated. I bet if you look at the soles of her shoes right now, you'd see paint on 'em."

"No, that's not true," I argued. "There wouldn't be any paint on her soles, even if she did make the footprints. Because..."

* * *

 **FACT 8: Running shoes (revised)  
** _There was a single running shoe in the elevator. Its sole matched the footprints. The other shoe was found just outside the elevator in the tunnel.  
_

* * *

"...we found the shoes that made the footprints. They were left behind in the tunnel and the elevator."

Nicole rolled her eyes. "Oh, whatever. Would the shoes fit her better than anyone else here? Then it was her."

Ashley slammed her hands down on her lectern. "No!" she shrieked. "Think about this rationally!" She looked at me. "Did the paint cover the entire hallway, wall to wall?"

I frowned. "No, there was a puddle in the middle of the hallway."

"Aha!" She pointed a finger in the air. "So come on. Why would I, directly after killing someone, deliberately walk through a puddle of fresh paint when I could have just walked around it? Then, why would I wait until later to discard my shoes, in two different places? Either I'm the biggest moron in the world, or someone is trying to frame me!"

Emily tapped her chin. "That does make sense, actually," she said. "Most of us knew that you take the tunnel to and from class, so it'd be easy to prepare. But how would the culprit get your shoes?"

"They didn't," Ashley huffed. "I take careful stock of my entire inventory every morning, and every shoe was accounted for. Believe me, if I had a missing shoe, you would hear about it."

"Oh!" Juliet exclaimed. "They could have just bought the shoes, right? At the student stores." She gestured to me and Bepi. "Remember?"

* * *

 _Juliet spun in a slow circle, equally amazed. "Wow, a whole patio furniture section? Rock-climbing equipment?" She clasped her hands and cooed. "Aww, look, they have a bunch of kids' clothes!"  
_

* * *

I nodded. "Yes. Ashley, what you're saying is plausible, but it's not evidence. Do you have any proof you didn't stay behind in the classroom after the rest of us left?"

She glowered. "Of course I don't! But I'll be sure to take detailed logs of my whereabouts at all times, from now on."

"Let us calm ourselves," Earl said. "Coelho is not the only potential suspect! Also, any of the students who were absent to class could have done this terrible thing!"

JP nodded. "Who is that, again? Rocky, Therion, Jane, Nicole, and... Bomb-Man."

Barrett grinned. "I like that. Everyone call me Bomb-Man from now on, eh?"

"But some of them have alibis, don't they?" Katy asked.

I nodded. "Yeah, two of them, so far."

* * *

 **FACT 1: Nicole and Barrett's testimony  
** _Nicole and Barrett say they spent the whole morning together. They claim to not have seen Morgan since last night.  
_

* * *

"Nicole and, uh, Bomb-Man are each other's alibis."

"Oh yeah," Nicole said. "We were in my room the whole time, trying on clothes."

"But wait," Rodrigo piped up. "Couldn't they be lying to protect one another?"

"That's be pretty dumb!" Monokuma piped up. "There ain't no second place trophy in this game! Help the murdered get away with their crime, and you get executed along with everyone else!"

I looked at the others. "Do any of you have alibis for class time?"

"I was hanging out in the cafeteria making my beats," Rocky said.

"I was just in my room," Jane said, making it as clear as possible she thought she was far above having to answer the question. "Doing _science_."

"Was in my room too," Therion said. "Went to the student stores for Mello-Yello. Then went back to room. Saw no one."

It was amazing how much this felt like a chess game. But it was a weird kind of chess game, where you have to learn new rules as you go, and you also have to explain the rules to your opponent at the same time.

"Let's take a step back," I said. "We've been operating under a certain assumption: that the killer cut off Morgan's head in the auditorium just after class. But what if that isn't true?"

"What?!" Barrett yelled. "That's crazy."

"Um, yes," Emily agreed hesitantly. "That has to have been when it happened. He was alive, and then we went outside, and then we came back in and his head was cut off."

Bepi and I shared a look. "I think I know what Saya's talking about," he said. "And she's right. There is reason to believe that his head was not cut off right after class." He scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "This is a weird question, but... has anyone here ever seen someone get their head cut off?"

Jane raised her hand coolly. "It was under tightly controlled, clinical conditions, however."

"I see what you mean, Perfetto!" Earl yelled, ignoring Jane. "Those who have not felt the agony and excitement of the battlefield may not know. But there was something missing from the crime scene, if he was indeed killed there! It was..."

* * *

 **FACT 4: Bloodstains on body  
** _There was not much blood on the body. The neck and hood of the Morgan's sweatshirt were bloody, and some was on the desk the body was found on, but it hadn't gotten anywhere else.  
_

* * *

"...the blood! Where was all the blood?"

"Yes," Bepi said. "You cut off a guy's head, it bleeds a lot. And... not in an easy to control way, either. There should have been blood everywhere."

"Wait, wait," Rocky said. "You're saying he got up and went somewhere else, and got his head cut off there, and then someone dragged his body back to the auditorium?"

"There wasn't a lot of time to do that," Emily said. "Maybe... no."

I leaned forward. "What were you going to say, Emily?"

She blushed adorably. "Um. It's probably silly."

"Nonsense!" Earl bellowed. "We all value your intelligence and problem-solving skills! Please, say your thoughts!"

Emily had a small, nervous smile at his compliments. "Well. I was just going to say... maybe his head was cut off a while ago, and he was already dead when class started."

There was a burst of activity; several people argued with her. I waited for it to die down a bit before I said, "I think she's right."

"But... that can't be!" Rodrigo argued.

"I think it can. There's evidence to that effect. There's..."

* * *

 **FACT 6: Bloody machete  
** _A bloody machete was in the projector room near where Morgan's body was found. Most of the blood on the blade had dried, and there was not blood anywhere else in the room.  
_

* * *

"...the machete. The blood on it had dried by the time we investigated."

"This is absolutely nuts, though!" JP yelled. "No. Come on. We all SAW HIM. Right? Sitting there in class. Alive. Making weird noises and being all creepy."

"Did you?" Emily asked, the shyness beginning to seep away.

"Yes! Come on, so did you!"

Emily shook her head. "No, I didn't. I saw a person sitting in the back row with their head down on a desk and their hood pulled up. But I never saw who it was. I just assumed."

I looked around; everyone was varying degrees of shocked. Jane pinched her nose in irritation. "Wait. NONE of you saw his face?"

Katy put her hands to her head in bafflement. "That... that was someone else the whole time? Morgan was just propped up somewhere with his head already cut off while someone else wore his hoodie and pretended to be him?"

"I think we have to consider the possibility," I replied.

"So... when was he killed?" Katy asked. "It could have been any time since I saw him in the hallway this morning!"

There was a pause. I just looked at her.

* * *

 _Katy shrugged. "I couldn't tell; he had that stupid hoodie on. I didn't really see his face."  
_

* * *

Katy smacked her forehead. "Oh my god, I didn't see him then, either."

Ashley laughed triumphantly. "And this means you're all idiots for suspecting me! Because I was clearly in class at the same time. I couldn't have been impersonating him!"

I looked around the circle carefully. "Hmm," I muttered, trying to look thoughtful. "The last time anyone saw him was at dinner, right? After that, there was no sign of him anywhere until class time."

"Hey, wait a second," Katy said. "That's not right! Remember, Lucina?"

* * *

 **FACT 11: Lobby witnesses  
** _Katy and Lucina could see the lobby all evening; Katy thinks she may have seen Morgan going upstairs early and not afterwards. Jane was at the information desk from before sun-up to the start of breakfast. They would have seen anything suspicious in the lobby during that time.  
_

* * *

"We saw him going to the elevators after dinner, right? I didn't see his face clearly, but it's not true there was no sign of him."

Lucina waved her hands to get attention. She tore off a piece of paper from her notebook and passed it to Earl who was at the lectern next to her.

"Sorenson writes that she saw him after dinner, going towards one of the elevators in the dorm. She did not see his face clearly, but she did catch a brief glimpse of his hair, within his hood!"

"He did have pretty distinctive hair," Emily mused.

Jane narrowed her eyes. "Even if we assume she actually identified him, that doesn't help us. That was right after everyone saw him."

"No!" Katy argued. "It helps us a lot! Because that's the most confusing thing about this whole murder, to me. The last time anyone saw him, he was going up to his room. So how did he end up all the way in another building without anyone seeing?"

Earl crossed his arms and shook his head. "Let us be certain! All here deny that they saw him during the night?"

Everyone shook their heads or otherwise indicated no.

"At least one of us is lying," Earl said with odd seriousness. He sighed and hung his head. When he looked back up, he seemed strangely human, for the first time. "I must apologize to whoever feels they are in such a position," he said shakily. "My leadership did not protect you from performing this act, and that means I've failed you."

There was a pause; I don't think anyone had seem him like this. "Earl..." Ashley said, but she did not say anything else.

Finally, Nicole just rolled her eyes. "It's not you, Tankboy. Not unless you did it. We got a psycho here in this room with us, and that's all there is to it."

Juliet clasped her hands in front of her heart. "Oh... I don't think that's true!" she said. "I don't think anyone here is evil. We have to trust whoever it is had a good reason." Multiple people looked at her like she was crazy, and she shrunk in on herself slightly. "I... I don't mean we shouldn't find them. Just... just I can't believe they're truly bad in their heart."

"I don't know about that," I replied, glowering. "This person was willing to cut a man's head off while he was still alive. That sounds pretty bad-in-heart to me."

"Yeah!" Rocky said. "And that clears me. Because I am way too squeamish to do that."

Therion's gaze slightly hardened. "Said you have been in a lot of fights."

"Fights is different from cutting someone's head off!" Rocky defended. "I mean... I bet Rodrigo did it! He probably learned how to cut off heads at knight school!" He blinked, then chuckled. "Oh man, 'knight school.' I didn't even mean to do that."

Rodrigo put his palm across his chest. "I would never violate one of God's commandments!" he stated.

"My money's on creepy science lady," Barrett spoke up. "Bird probably cuts heads off mice all day long. Fwsh fwsh!"

Jane crossed her arms and glared. "Mouse guillotines are entirely humane."

"Oi, well..."

"Hey!" Bepi yelled out before another argument could begin. "Hey, guys, let's... let's back off this particular conversation, okay?" He gave me a very odd look. "I think Saya might be the one making assumptions, now."

I tilted my head in confusion. "What do you mean?"

He frowned for one slight second. "You said the culprit cut off Morgan's head while he was still alive. There's evidence suggesting that's not true."

"What?!" Earl exclaimed.

"Two things." Bepi seemed to be getting into his role as information-giver. I knew he had it in him. "First, the thing we mentioned before."

* * *

 **FACT 4: Bloodstains on body  
** _There was not much blood on the body. The neck and hood of the Morgan's sweatshirt were bloody, and some was on the desk the body was found on, but it hadn't gotten anywhere else.  
_

* * *

"If you cut the head off a body that's still alive, then blood will spurt everywhere. But if the body is dead and the heart's not beating, then it's not nearly so much. His clothes or body would be messier if he was alive."

"Ugh, god, why do you know this stuff..." Katy mumbled.

Bepi grimaced. "Well, cover your ears, because this next part is even worse. Because, Morgan's head wasn't cut off smoothly. It took several cuts, and the first few probably wouldn't be lethal on their own."

* * *

 **FACT 5: Morgan's decapitation  
** _The wounds on Morgan's neck suggest it took several slices to cut the head off. There were also discolored marks that looked unrelated to the decapitation.  
_

* * *

"Gauugh," Rocky groaned, shuddering. "Okay, but so what?"

"Combine that with the email we got," Bepi answered.

 _The victims are Morgan Lee and The Ultimate Vandal. The body was discovered at 11:58 a.m. The body's head and right index finger have been severed. There were no other cuts on the body. The body contained no traces of poison or venom._

"If he was alive when he was getting cut, there would be defensive wounds. At the very least, his neck would have been a more difficult target to hit, and there'd be wounds on his chest or face. But there's nothing." He shrugged. "I guess he might have been drugged or sedated. Would that could as 'poison or venom?'"

"Yep!" Monokuma replied cheerfully. "I do a complete toxicology report. I wouldn't try to trick you with a misleadingly worded Body Discovery Announcement! If I say no poison or venom, that means no drugs that are relevant, too!" He glowered. "I'll never know where he got that weed, though."

"'Not misleadingly worded,'" Therion said. "About email that mentions decapitation but neglects to say it's the cause of death."

"Pu hu hu! I am a fickle little bear!"

"Ugh," Ashley mumbled. "So, how did he die?"

"Let's leave that aside for now," I said. "I think it's more useful to think about when he died and where he died."

Katy put a finger up. "Oh, I remembered something I wanted to ask a while ago." She looked at Ashley. "You said you took the tunnel after you left class, right?"

"Yes," Ashley said, suspicious.

"And you didn't see any spilled paint. But, I didn't get a chance to ask. Did you notice anything else that was unusual?"

Ashley paled slightly. "Er. No."

Earl looked at her seriously. "Coelho, we all need to be honest."

Ashley scrunched her face up in consternation, then she sighed. "Fine! Part of the tunnel was really slippery, and I fell down! Onto my buttocks! Are you happy?"

"Dude, you could've just not said the part about the buttocks..." JP mumbled.

Ignoring him, Earl nodded. "Thank you!"

I frowned. "Hm, so it was just slippery after class? Not before, too?"

Ashley squeezed her eyes shut and flailed her little arms madly. "Gauugh, okay! I fell down on the way to class too! ALSO on my buttocks! I fell on my buttocks twice!"

"It's really just getting weird you keep saying 'buttocks' now," JP said.

"So the tunnel was slippery, so what?" Nicole asked dismissively. "It's probably just Crisco."

"Why would it be... whatever." Rocky shook his head to keep from getting distracted. "I know what it was! It was all the blood, right?! That's where all the blood was!"

"I think you're... sort of right," I replied. "It wasn't the blood, but..."

* * *

 **FACT 9: Soap in junction  
** _The floor of the underground junction was slippery from soap. A bucket was found nearby which looks like it was recently filled with soapy water.  
_

* * *

"...I think it might have been soapy water used to clean away the blood."

"Soapy water?" Jane rubber her chin and looked around suspiciously. "Someone was tasked with mopping the floors, right?"

Rodrigo raised his hand. "That was I. But I was not required to clean in the tunnel."

"That isn't all," I said. "There's more reason to believe his head was cut off in the tunnel junction. There's two pieces of evidence, if we consider them together..."

* * *

 **FACT 6: Bloody machete (REVISED)** _  
A bloody machete was in the projector room near where Morgan's body was found. Most of the blood on the blade had dried, and there was not blood anywhere else in the room. The blade of the machete was damaged, as if it had been struck against something hard._

 **FACT 10: Mark on floor** _  
There was a dent on the floor of the junction where it looks like something chipped away the cement. Inside the dent, there was a raggedy thread, which was mostly dark red but faded to white on one end.  
_

* * *

Earl closed his eyes and shoot his head grimly. "I can picture it, yes. He lies on the cement floor, and the culprit brings the blade down across his neck several times. They end up striking the floor with the blade, damaging both!"

I nodded. "And whatever the thread is, it ended up with blood on it. The soapy water washed away most of the blood, but not what had soaked into the thread."

"But was he killed in the tunnel?" Emily asked. "It certainly is creepy down there."

"There's two pieces of evidence suggesting he wasn't killed in the tunnel," I said. "Or at least, there's another location where important events happened."

"Upstairs in the dorm, right?" Rocky offered. "No-talk-tall-blue-hair-girl saw him go that way."

"You need serious help coming up with nicknames," Nicole remarked.

"Oh, there's other stuff too!" JP enthused. "There's…"

* * *

 **FACT 12: Burning T-shirts  
** _Someone set a fire in a trash can at around 2:30 last night, right outside the west elevator. JP and I both came to try to extinguish it.  
_

* * *

"We don't know for sure that was him, but it sure seemed like him!"

"Yeah!" Katy agreed. "And I didn't see his face, but there was this morning, too!"

* * *

 **FACT 2: Katy's testimony  
** _Katy says she saw Morgan before breakfast. He ran past her in the upstairs hallway and into his room but wouldn't respond when she knocked. Everyone else we asked says they haven't seen him since dinner and haven't been in his room.  
_

* * *

"Yes, yes!" Earl yelled enthusiastically. "Whether it was our victim or an impostor, there was definitely suspicious activity upstairs in the dorm! So that is an important location for the crime!"

I gasped. "Now that I think of it... there was interesting evidence in his room. Evidence not only that a struggle occurred there, but that someone tried to cover it up!"

* * *

 **FACT 14: Dent in wall  
** _A piece of furniture was moved in Morgan's room. Behind it was a dent in the wall where something had damaged it.  
_

* * *

Therion gave me a dry look. "Vandal was unpredictable. Could have damaged own wall."

"That's possible!" Earl said. "But it is still suspicious information!"

Therion crossed his arms. "Still iffy. Anything more solid about victim's location last night?"

"Oh!" Katy exclaimed. "Yes! We can place him at a particular location last night!"

"What?!" Nicole snapped. "This is huge! Why didn't you say so?"

"I just forgot," Katy said defensively. "But it's pretty cut-and-dried!"

* * *

 **FACT 17: Receipt  
** _A receipt from the student stores was found in Morgan's bathroom sink. It shows that The Ultimate Vandal bought the machete at 3:30 last night.  
_

* * *

"Oh my goodness!" Emily exclaimed. "That means... not only was he alive at 3:30, but he bought the weapon that ended up cutting off his own head!"

"But why?" Rodrigo grunted thoughtfully. "Was he... planning a murder of his own?"

"So we still don't know where he was killed, if it wasn't the tunnel!" Juliet exclaimed. "Maybe he was killed in the student stores? Did anyone search them?"

Nicole talked herself through the timeline out loud, counting each step on her fingers. "So, he goes upstairs after dinner. He sneaks out of his room and gets on an elevator and goes to the student stores. Then he buys a machete and... gets killed and... I dunno, I've lost the plot, here."

"Now, hold on a second," I said. "Nicole, you should know better than almost anyone else that's not likely."

* * *

 **FACT 13: Morgan's room (REVISED)  
** _Morgan's room is near the middle of the hallway, directly between the two elevators. It's possible but very unlikely someone could sneak out to an elevator without being noticed during the night. Therion and Rocky both say they couldn't get in to do their chores last night, and it is unknown if anyone was able to get inside other than Morgan himself.  
_

* * *

"You're one of the nighttime guards," I continued. "Do you think someone could leave a room in the middle of the hallway and sneak over to one of the elevators without being discovered?"

She frowned. "Huh. You'd have to be pretty lucky."

Emily waved her hands in the air frantically. "Can we all back up, please? I'm afraid I'm getting lost about when people saw Morgan and when it wasn't really him. Can we try to make a timeline?"

"An excellent idea!" Earl yelled. "You think like an officer, my stargazing friend! Let us start in the evening. Multiple individuals saw Morgan at our evening meal, yes?"

We nodded. "And the next anyone saw him was just after dinner, when Lucina and Katy saw him go upstairs," Nicole said. "And... for now, let's just trust Lucina really did see his hair."

Ashley rubbed her chin in thought. "That's the last time anyone saw him for sure, correct?"

"I knocked on his door to vacuum his room," Rocky said. "I guess he coulda been in there, but he didn't answer."

"Same for his laundry," Therion confirmed.

"And next was the burning T-shirts, which happened around 2:30," I said. "Though we don't have confirmation he did it."

"Yes," Therion said. "Then machete at 3:30. Was the vandal for certain."

"Um, well..." I said. "It... wasn't, actually, necessarily."

Katy gaped at me. "Saya, you saw the receipt yourself!"

"Well, yes," I agreed. "But how many of us have bought something from the student stores? Do you remember how you do it?"

* * *

 _He scanned the Funyuns, then he scanned his tablet. The machine beeped and, a few seconds later, output a small white receipt. Bepi took it and glanced it over. "It's got the item I bought, the amount I spent, and... hm. Not my name, but my talent." He showed it to us.  
_

* * *

"For the 'ultimate vandal' to buy the machete, he didn't need to actually be there. All that's needed is his tablet."

"Kumaputor!" Monokuma bellowed.

I rolled my eyes. "So actually, we don't know that Morgan himself bought the machete."

There was a brief silence. Finally, Bepi spoke. "Well, okay then. That's a question mark. But next was when Katy saw him in the upstairs hallway, in the morning."

"Oh, yes," Katy said. "He ran right by me, right when I was on my way to breakfast. But I didn't see his face."

"Wait!" Rodrigo yelled. "I have realized something! Katy did not see his face, but it's not possible for it to have been an impostor!"

JP frowned. "Why?"

"Because of our magic doors!" Rodrigo looked proud of himself. "Friend Katy says the individual ran into Morgan's room. But he couldn't have been able to open the door if it wasn't him!"

"An excellent point!" Earl yelled. "We can only open the doors to our own rooms! So it WAS him, and our victim was alive until breakfast this morning! Nothing else is possible!"

"You're wrong," I said plainly.

Earl and Rodrigo both looked gobsmacked. "You have been seized by madness!" Rodrigo argued. "There is no way to open anyone else's door!"

"Um, sorry," I replied, genuinely sorry. "But... no. There's something else the culprit could have used to open Morgan's door. It's just... kind of gross."

Jane tilted her head. "Wh... oh god, you can't possibly mean..."

I nodded.

* * *

 **FACT 16: Severed finger  
** _There was a severed finger behind Morgan's bed. It looked to have been casually discarded rather than hidden deliberately.  
_

* * *

Jane scrunched up her nose in disgust. "Frightful. Simply frightful. But yes, a finger would in fact serve as a sort of 'key' to one of our rooms."

"So," I said, "the last thing we know for sure that Morgan did was go upstairs to the dorm rooms after dinner. Everything else could have been done by someone else."

"So we got nothing?!" Rocky bellowed. "He went upstairs in the dorm, yadda yadda yadda, he ends up in the classroom with his head cut off?" He waved his hands in the air in frustration. "You can't yadda-yadda a whole murder! Who yadda-yaddas a whole murder?"

"To the contrary," Earl said. "We know that he was not seen leaving his room, and it is unlikely he could sneak out of his room during the night without being seen."

"Yeah," I said. "Because of that, and because of the evidence of a struggle, I'd like to propose that Morgan was killed in his room BEFORE 3:30. Once that was done, it was easy to get his tablet and his finger."

"But they didn't have the machete yet!" Ashley argued. "So, how did they kill him?"

I frowned. "There was a lot of confusing evidence in his room. Katy, Bepi, was there anything else we found there which might be important? I just know we're missing something."

Bepi gave me that look again, but he spoke up. "Yes. There was something you said wasn't there yesterday."

* * *

 **FACT 15: Bungee cord  
** _There was a short length of bungee cord among Morgan's paint supplies in his room. I don't think it was there before._

* * *

Ashley put her hands on her hips and leaned forward aggressively. "Ugh, there's no way a bungee cord is relevant! Because remember?"

* * *

 _The victims are Morgan Lee and The Ultimate Vandal. The body was discovered at 11:58 a.m. The body's head and right index finger have been severed. There were no other cuts on the body. The body contained no traces of poison or venom.  
_

* * *

"And I examined his body when I was sitting in the auditorium while the rest of you investigated," she continued. "There weren't any other obvious wounds that could have killed him."

"You're right, Ashley," Bepi said (it looked like it physically hurt him to admit she was right about anything). "But this may be the sort of thing that you need combat experience to notice. And it may depend on some more misleading wording by Monokuma…"

"U pu pu! I am such a scamp!"

Bepi rolled his eyes. "Anyway, it's true he didn't have big wounds anywhere on his body but his hand and his neck. But the wounds on his neck…"

* * *

 **FACT 5: Morgan's decapitation  
** _The wounds on Morgan's neck suggest it took several slices to cut the head off. There were also discolored marks that looked unrelated to the decapitation.  
_

* * *

"...it's possible he machete wasn't the only weapon the culprit used."

Rodrigo hung his head. "The demon strangled him?"

Emily gasped. "The bungee cord!"

"This makes so much sense!" I said enthusiastically. "You can buy that at the student stores too. And I'm pretty sure it wasn't there earlier."

"And then they cut the head off, which disguises the strangle wounds," Nicole muttered. "Christ, whoever this evil genius is, thanks for not killing me."

Jane gave me a sideways look. "May I say, we are putting a lot of trust in the testimony of..." she eyed Katy, Lucina, and myself, "...certain people. How do we know they're not lying?"

"We don't," Bepi replied. "But, we know they don't have any good REASON to lie, because we know they're not the killer."

Jane raised an eyebrow. "Oh? And just how do you figure that?"

"Because they were all in class today," he said simply. "And they were outside the classroom when the culprit set up the dead body."

Jane humphed. "Very well."

I could see why she would not want to go back to that line of reasoning, but I decided not to let her off the hook. "We haven't said this explicitly, but this limits our suspect list considerably. The only people who could have impersonated Morgan in the classroom are Rocky, Therion, and... you, Jane."

Jane just looked down at her chest, then back up at me with a raised eyebrow.

Nicole waved her hand at her dismissively. "Oh, it'd be easy to deal with that. A baggy hoodie like that? Not even sure you'd need any binding."

Jane clenched a fist, then she sighed. She gave me a hard look, then, to my surprise, smirked. "I think your whole theory is asinine," she said loosely. "You assert he was killed in his room. Then, his body was carried off to the tunnel, where he was decapitated, and finally to the classroom."

"Yes," I said.

"And part of your reason for believing this is that the hallway was guarded all night and no one saw him leave his room."

"Yes."

She made a great show of rolling her eyes. "Do I even need to say it outright? He couldn't sneak out of his room in the night, but someone could have sneaked out of his room while dragging his dead body?"

I started to speak then paused. "That's a good point. How would someone get his body out of his room?"

"Oh, maybe they did it before breakfast!" JP suggested. "After the sun came up, so the guards left!"

"Nnnnnope," Jane said. "I was in the lobby that whole time. I think I would have seen someone dragging a dead body. And I can't leave the desk without the bear yelling at me."

"Gotta do your chores!" Monokuma agreed.

JP was undeterred. "Well, maybe they did it after dinner, but before the sun went down! People were just kind of all walking around then, but there weren't any official guards yet."

"Uh, no," Katy said. "Because me and Lucina would have seen them for sure."

* * *

 **FACT 11: Lobby witnesses  
** _Katy and Lucina could see the lobby all evening; Katy thinks she may have seen Morgan going upstairs early and not afterwards. Jane was at the information desk from before sun-up to the start of breakfast. They would have seen anything suspicious in the lobby during that time.  
_

* * *

"Maybe they did it real quick during breakfast?" Rocky suggested. "Like, they went upstairs, got his body, dragged it down to the tunnel, cut off his head, mopped up the blood, dragged his headless corpse up to the A/V room, and got back to the cafeteria, all in ten minutes?" He paused. "Okay, no one say anything, I can see the problems with that already."

"Maybe they threw his body out the window?" Juliet suggested.

"Impossible," Rodrigo replied. "His body would show signs of being thrown from a five-story window."

"Indeed," Jane agreed. "So, here is the heart of our mystery. If he was killed in his room, then how did the killer move his body? If he was not killed in his room, why did no one see him leave?"

"Oh!" JP literally hopped up and down in his excitement. "Oh oh oh oh! I know!"

* * *

 **FACT 12: Burning T-shirts  
** _Someone set a fire in a trash can at around 2:30 last night, right outside the west elevator. JP and I both came to try to extinguish it.  
_

* * *

"A decoy!" he yelled. "A decoy!"

"Fuck, calm down," Barrett grumbled.

"But I figured it out!" JP enthused. "Okay. So, the culprit goes to his room some time after dinner and kills him. Maybe during the first guard shift? All they have to do is let the door to his room close behind them without being seen... even if they're seen on the way to one of the elevators, it won't be suspicious."

I tried to get his attention. "Um, JP…"

Nicole hmmed. "I guess that's possible. Plenty of traffic in the hallway during the early shift last night. Woulda seen someone dragging a body, though."

"But his body would still be in his room!" Emily said.

"Okay, so, hear me out," JP said. "The culprit goes to that one elevator..."

"Uh, let's call it 'the west elevator' just to keep it straight, okay?" I suggested.

"Oh, sure, sure. So, they go to the west elevator, and they set up the shirts in the trash can. They call the elevator, and right before riding it down, they light the shirts on fire."

"JP, hey…"

Emily nodded, getting it. "Oh, I see! Then, you and Saya run to the west elevator to put out the fire. Meanwhile, the culprit runs through the lobby downstairs to the EAST elevator. They ride that elevator up, go to Morgan's room, get his body, and then escape with it back through the east elevator!"

Earl nodded smartly. "It all adds up. They have the victim's tablet and can buy the machete. And they have all night to prepare the body in the underground tunnel!"

"And then, just before breakfast, they put on his hoodie and run back to his room," Juliet added. "But... why?"

"To plant the receipt and to return the tablet," Earl answered. "To create confusion about the mysterious events of the nighttime!"

"Fucker's actually brilliant," Barrett grunted.

"Everybody hold it!"

There was a pause. I was surprised by the loud, piercing quality of my own voice. I hadn't meant to be so aggressive, but things were getting out of control. "Uh, sorry. But... I don't think we're right about this."

"What do you mean?!" Earl bellowed.

I gave JP an apologetic smile. "Uh... I'm sorry, but I think I'm going to have to tell them."

He blanched. "What?! But... hmm." He nodded. "Oh yeah. I get it."

"Thanks." I addressed the whole circle. "So... JP and I didn't just hang around the waste basket for a long time. We were both by the west elevator for at most five minutes. He left pretty quickly and he went immediately to the east elevator. Because... uh."

* * *

 **FACT 18: Cup in east elevator  
** _Right after JP and I extinguished the fire, he relieved himself in the cup Monokuma gave him and put it on the other elevator. I guess I failed at keeping this secret for him.  
_

* * *

Ashley literally screamed when she heard what JP did.

Nicole shook her head angrily. "Pretty gross, dude." JP cringed.

"Well... anyway," I said, "the culprit couldn't have used the burning T-shirts as a decoy. There wasn't enough time. JP went to the other elevator too quickly."

"Well, but how do you know?" Jane challenged. "Maybe they were just really fast."

I hung my head, hoping it was convincing. "Oh. Well. Maybe you're right. Maybe they did just go down one elevator really fast, then go up the other one really fast, while we were putting out the fire." I noticed Bepi giving me that strange look again.

"Wait a minute," Rocky said. "Wait. No!" He stomped his foot. "No, that can't be right."

* * *

 _The whole group made it outside at about the same time. Barrett was notable by his absence, but Monokuma did not seem to care. He stood in the middle of the lawn, hopping up and down in fury. "What took so long!" he barked. "It's been almost a full five minutes!"_

 _"Hey, your stupid elevators take forever, don't blame us," Rocky grunted.  
_

* * *

"Are we really talking about the elevators in the dorm being fast?! What planet do we live on where that happens?"

"Right!" I agreed. "Good thinking, Rocky. Yes, it's not possible to go downstairs and back up so quickly. JP would have run into them."

"So who set the fire?!" Nicole asked. "And why?!"

I frowned. "I'm not sure," I said hesitantly, "but something Earl said a minute ago stands out to me. About trying to create confusion."

"Yes!" Earl exclaimed, holding a fist in front of his face dramatically. "Yes, the culprit knew they could impersonate the victim, so they wanted to give the impression he was alive long after he died!"

Ashley frowned. "That does make sense as a pattern. Class this morning, being seen by Katy, the fire, the receipt… all designed to make us believe he wasn't dead."

"But this still leaves us with nothing!" JP wailed.

"And your kind adviser is getting bored!" Monokuma spoke up.

"Gah!" Nicole slmmed her hand down on the lecturn. "So what do we do? Do we just... vote randomly for one of the three suspects?!"

"No," I said calmly. "Because we don't have nothing. In fact, we have a huge amount of information about this case. And Jane, deliberately or not, summed up the heart of this mystery a few minutes ago."

Jane blinked at me. "Remind us."

"You said the central question was, _If he was killed in his room, how did the killer move his body?_ And we were right the first time. They couldn't have done it after dinner without being seen. They couldn't have done it during either of the guard shifts without being seen. They couldn't have done it before or during breakfast without being seen. And so that..."

My dramatic pause actually worked. "So that what?!" Emily shrieked.

"So that… leads us directly to the culprit."

There was pandemonium. But I had never felt calmer in my life. I was ready to say their name.

* * *

 _Author's note:_

 _I hadn't planned to release this so soon, but I got excited about testing my mystery-writing skills. I learned a lot about making things tight from writing this; hopefully the whodunnits will just get better and better as the story goes on. I'd definitely appreciate any feedback anyone might have about dangling clues._

 _Thanks to everyone who's been offering speculations! Hopefully that'll only continue after this cliffhanger. I think the playing along is the fun part, so it's really gratifying to see people doing it here._

 _(Also, the killer turned out to be one of my favorite characters to write. Whoops.)_


	12. Economics of Labor I: Part F

Therion's calm, confident voice interrupted me. "What if Saya did it?"

There was a very long silence. People did not seem to know what to make of this, and I think I was most nonplussed of all.

"Left breakfast early," Therion continued finally. "Noteworthy. All alone. Had enough time to do anything."

"But that doesn't make sense," Katy argued. "She was in class when the impostor was pretending to be Morgan!"

Therion shook his head. "Whole narrative came from Saya. Suspicious."

"Hey, that's not true!" Rocky argued. "We all figured this out together!" I desperately forced down an urge to triumphantly smile. "She talked a lot in the trial, sure, but there was stuff she was wrong about, too!"

"Very simple," Therion said, staring at me. "Certain she was alone for period of time directly before body was found. Should account for it. Else a suspect."

He was not on solid ground here, I knew that. But I was also lucky. Very lucky. "I actually can account for it," I said.

I reached into my pocket and pulled out a small piece of paper. I handed it to Ashley, who was next to me. "Could you please tell everyone what that is?"

Ashley uncrumpled the paper and looked at it. She raised an eyebrow. "It's a receipt from the student stores. You bought a stun gun at 10:02."

"That's right in the middle of my time alone," I said. "That cuts in half the time I'd have to do anything, and when you consider murder, arranging a body, planting evidence... whatever I needed to have done... it's not enough." I looked around the room, making eye contact with as many people as I could. "It's possible I gave someone my tablet to impersonate me. But why would someone help me establish an alibi?"

Therion was silent. His expression did not change at all.

"I was, I think, making an important point before I was interrupted," I declared. "If Morgan was killed in his room, it's impossible for the killer to have gotten his body to the tunnel without being seen. So there's only one conclusion we can draw: They didn't." I avoided looking at the culprit directly. "They did it **in plain sight**."

Juliet gasped. "But... how? Anyone who saw the body would have done something!"

"Yes," I agreed. "So the killer must have had a way to keep the **body** from being seen." And that's when I looked right at him. "Therion, do I have to keep going?"

Therion said nothing.

* * *

 _I opened the door. Therion, indeed, stood there, his big laundry cart next to him. "I need your sheets," he said._

* * *

"It's stupidly obvious, at its heart," I said. "Therion was going into people's rooms, and he had a method of transport. But he did a brilliant job at making the murder seem like it happened long after it actually did."

Therion hung his head. He took a deep breath, then looked up at me, his face blank. "Evidence?" he asked.

I nodded. "It's possible whoever set the fire escaped down the elevator. But that's not the only place they could have gone."

* * *

 _"Shit!" JP yelled. "What the hell?!" He stripped off his shirt and tossed it into the waste basket. He shrieked as his shirt caught fire. "Aaa! What do we do!?"_

 _The door nearest to the elevator opened up and Therion stuck his head out, looking very annoyed. "What is going on out here?"_

* * *

Therion frowned. "Circumstantial."

"I also noticed something else," I said. "I saw you with your laundry cart twice. The first time..."

* * *

 _Therion gave me a blank look. "Trying to make a game of it. Not easy." Without another word, he gave a gentle push to his cart and smoothly wheeled it in the direction of the locker room._

* * *

"...but the second time..."

* * *

 _He positioned himself behind the cart and shrugged. "Both wrong, probably. Nothing close to safe here." He waved. "Good night." He strained against the cart, lurching it forward down the hall.  
_

* * *

"If you just had sheets in that cart, it wouldn't have been so hard to move," I said. "Something heavy was in there, too."

His blank look continued. "Circumstantial."

Nicole slammed her hand down on the lectern. "Circumstantial, whatever! It makes sense!"

"But no proof." Therion looked around, almost disappointed. "Really? No proof?"

"Well," I replied, "there was the huge mistake you made."

He tilted his head. "Yes?"

"It doesn't prove you're the killer, but it proves you're lying about last night."

"Aauugh!" Rocky yelled. "Just tell us, just tell us! Stop dragging it out!"

I nodded. "Your huge mistake."

* * *

 _The Ultimate Vandal flung himself against another wall, staining it. "This place is full of lies. Lies and lies and lies." He flopped his body down onto the bed and rolled onto the floor, leaving smeared colors behind._

* * *

"But today it was different."

* * *

 _Bepi looked closer at the bed while Katy searched the bathroom. Bepi leaned in, thoughtfully. "Hey, check this out."_

 _I went closer, noticing he was looking at a small speck of red on the otherwise pristine bed._

* * *

"You changed the sheets." I stared him down. "You said you couldn't get into his room, but you changed the sheets."

Therion clasped his hands behind his back and just regarded me. It was a long time before he spoke, but when he did, it was clear and confident. "Had to. Needed to wrap his body up to put in the cart. And was worried the bear would yell at me. Call attention."

"You've got to do your chores!" Monokuma chirped.

Earl's mouth hung open in shock. "Are you admitting to this crime?"

Therion shrugged. "Pointless not to. Got me."

I don't think anyone knew what to say to that. Therion was always hard to read but... he actually didn't seem to care at all that we caught him. "Don't you understand what this means?" Bepi asked him.

Therion looked at him for a moment, then he shifted his gaze to me. "But there's one element you never figured out. There's something missing."

I nodded. "The white thread came from the sheets you wrapped him in. You lay him on top of the sheet in the tunnel, and when you chopped his head off, you cut through the sheet and left a thread behind. So somewhere, there's bloody sheets that we never found."

"Oh my god, who cares!?" Nicole snapped. "What, this somehow clears you because we didn't find the sheets?"

"No." Therion blinked slowly. "Just proud of this part. Misdirection on top of misdirection."

"Proud?!" Rodrigo spat, baffled. "How could you say such a thing about a murder?!"

"Wait," I cut in. "Monokuma said you had to do your chores. So... you just washed the sheets, didn't you? You just brought them to the laundry room and put them in the washer." I smacked my head. "Oh my god. You weren't framing Ashley at all. Framing Ashley was the feint."

* * *

 _As we descended the stairs to the hallway, I noticed something very different than when I had been here before. There was a can of paint open and on its side. A large puddle of white paint covered the middle of the hallway. There were footprints leading from the puddle, down the hallway, past the doors to the storage closets and laundry room, straight to the elevator at the end._

* * *

"You were giving us a path to follow," I breathed, feeling legitimately amazed. "We walked right past the laundry room, because the footprints and shoes led us away. We never searched it."

"Wild! Stop respecting the murderer!" Earl sounded outright appalled.

"Murderer," Emily mumbled. "I still can't believe it."

Rodrigo raised his arm. "The villain has confessed, but I feel I still lack complete understanding of this crime."

"Yeah," Nicole agreed. "Can someone, like, take us through it, step by step?"

Therion nodded. "Saya should."

I felt like there must be some trick; this was so easy. But something in me decided to have trust in my deductions. I began:

* * *

"The culprit's plans probably started after class yesterday, when they tried to convince more of us to skip class, to increase the pool of potential suspects. After dinner last night, the culprit saw the Ultimate Vandal go upstairs, and they knew they had a chance to strike. They retrieved the laundry cart and went upstairs from room to room. When the culprit reached the Ultimate Vandal's room, he let them in.

"In an unguarded moment, they wrapped the bungee cord they had previously bought around his neck, strangling him. They bundled his body in the bedsheets, which they replaced, and hid it in the laundry cart. They also stole his tablet and a can of white paint. Then, they just proceeded down the hall as normal. They left the laundry cart in the underground tunnel and returned to their room.

"The culprit proceeded to make it seem The Ultimate Vandal was still alive. First, they set the T-shirts on fire just outside their room, then they sneaked out of their room (which was easy, since it was right next to the elevator) to buy the machete with the vandal's tablet, obtaining a receipt.

"The culprit cut off the vandal's head and finger in the tunnel, washing away the blood with soapy water they found in the cleaning closet. They then stashed the body in the projector room, put the sheets in the washer, and waited until morning. The culprit then proceeded to use The Ultimate Vandal's hoodie to impersonate him. First, they ran to his room, using the finger as a 'key,' to plant the receipt and tablet. After a normal breakfast, they hurried to the classroom, where they sat in the back row, again wearing the hoodie, keeping their head down on the desk.

"After class, they quickly put the sweatshirt onto the body and set it up in the same seat. They spilled the paint and planted footprints, to distract us from going into the laundry room. And finally, they just made their escape through the tunnel.

"Based on the evidence, there is only one person who could have completed this plan: **Therion Suarez, the Ultimate Game Designer**!"

* * *

Therion just looked at me. Then he looked at Monokuma. "Voting time?" He seemed so unconcerned.

"Voting time indeed!" Monokuma confirmed. "Everyone pick the portrait of the student you think is guilty! Remember, abstaining from voting is not allowed!"

It was all very anticlimactic. We voted, lights flashed, a jackpot sound rang out, and Monokuma burst out, "The winner of the unanimous vote is Therion Suarez, who was indeed the criminal in this vicious crime! Congratulations, my dear students!"

It was honestly just surreal. We had solved a murder and knew what that meant, but the condemned person was just standing there, arms clasped behind his back, looking around at us stoically.

Finally, Earl asked what I think all of us were wondering. "Suarez! Why? Why did you do this?"

Therion regarded him calmly, then shrugged. "I guess... it was ideological."

"Ideological?!" Nicole snapped. "What are you talking about? You killed someone!"

But instead of looking at her, he looked right at me. "Saya, you asked me once: most basic kind of game. Most stripped-down experience that's still a game. Didn't get to answer. Want to know now?"

I didn't know what to say, but he thankfully clarified on his own: "The murder mystery."

My mouth hung open.

"Player involvement is minimal," he continued. "Just words on a page, can't be changed. But still interactive. Reader questions, analyzes. Plays along. Win condition is clear: deduce killer before it's revealed."

He glared up at Monokuma, the strongest emotional expression I'd ever seen on his face. "Bear's game is terrible. Frustrating, because could be ultimate game. Stakes and immersion like nothing I've ever seen. But rules are ambiguous, and real life is messy." He looked back at me. "Had to intervene. Had to."

"Intervene?" Emily asked, sounding terrified.

He just nodded calmly to her. "If left alone, players become emotional. Stupid murders, just stabbing and leaving body where it lies; chaos. 'Investigations' just become haranguing obvious suspect until confession. Boring. A waste."

His face took on an air of odd serenity. "But now I've taught you all. Plan had layers of deception. Still left clues. Still was caught."

He smiled, vague but still noticeable. "Figured, won either way. If not found guilty, I escape; great. If found guilty, I set the model. Rest of you understand, to have chance of winning, must create even better mystery. Can you beat my high score? " He nodded smartly. "Game will live up to potential." He glanced up at Monokuma. "Taught the mastermind, too. Game is asinine without mysteries. Remember my example, use it to improve rules. Ultimate game designer. Worth dying for ultimate game."

"You're insane," Jane insisted. "You're absolutely, completely batty. Killing someone for a game? Dying for a game?!"

"Don't think I'll be the last person to do that," Therion said calmly, staring her down. He glanced up at the leering bear. "Know I'm not the first, either."

There was a tense, shocked silence. "What are you talking about?" Nicole snapped. "This has happened before?!"

"The killing game is what this program _is_ ," Therion answered calmly. He stepped out from behind his lectern, ignoring Monokuma's protests, and walked directly up to me.

He held out a folded paper. Without really even thinking about it, I took it.

"Found this on the vandal," he said. "Don't know how he got it. Assume it kicked off his rebellion."

I blinked, bemused. "Why are you giving this to me?"

He looked honestly puzzled. "Because Saya. You're going to be the detective."

Monokuma stamped his feet. "Enough of this chaos! It's execution time!" Even though his words were impatient, his tone suggested he was gleefully happy about absolutely everything that had happened. He pulled a lever next to him.

And before I even knew it, chains whipped out from the ceiling, wrapped themselves around Therion, and pulled him up and away. The last I saw of him was his unsurprised, unemotional expression.

* * *

 **KILL SCREEN**  
the execution of THERION SUAREZ

 _We found ourselves in front of a huge window with complete blackness on the other side of it._

 _Suddenly, bright lights flipped on on the other side of the window, revealing Therion sitting impassively at a small table. Monokuma sat opposite him. They both held pencils, and on the table I could make out a paper with a 3x3 grid._

 _A scoreboard emerged from the wall, reading MONOKUMA: 0. THERION: 0. TIES: 0._

 _Slyly, Monokuma reached down and, with his pencil, made an X in one of the squares._

 _Therion reached out and drew O in one of the other squares. They went back and forth until they had filled the grid with symbols. The scoreboard changed. MONOKUMA: 0. THERION: 0. TIES: 1._

 _Monokuma replaced the paper with a new one, a blank grid facing up at them. They looked at each other for a moment, and then it was on. With blinding speed they entered Xs and Os, flinging the papers aside and replacing them one after another after another. The number of ties climbed._

 _I noticed something else, too. Above Therion's head, emerging from the wall, was a giant mallet. It was impossibly distorted, covered in ever-changing, scrolling numbers and letters, and it was held by a white-gloved, mechanical hand. I saw Therion look up at it once, in the middle of his furious gameplay, but other than that, he didn't acknowledge it at all._

 _The numbers climbed faster than I could keep up. Completed game papers flew everywhere, the pencils moving so fast, smoke began to rise from the table. The mallet clicked closer and closer to Therion, settling just above his head, then beginning to arc back to the place where it could swing down... right on top of him._

 _The numbers continued to climb, but they slowed; Therion was pausing slightly between plays. Still, the numbers rose. TIES: 249. 250. 251._

 _Slower. 252. 253. 254. And 255._

 _The mallet was locked into place above him, the gibberish still splayed across it, flashing madly. Monokuma grinningly, slowly, filled in the second-to-last square. X._

 _Therion closed his eyes and took a breath. He looked back at the looming shape ready to descend. He reached out and deliberately, slowly marked: O. The mallet began to swing. Monokuma lifted the game sheet and tossed it away._

 _The scoreboard emitted a shrieking sound, sparks flying out of it. There was a burst of smoke and a huge crash._

 _When the smoke cleared, the arm holding the mallet was broken, uselessly hanging out of the wall._

 _But the scoreboard had fallen, and it had landed right on top of Therion._

 _The only sign of him was a single arm sticking out from under it, unmoving._

* * *

"Pu hu hu hu!" Monokuma laughed gleefully. "The wheel of justice continues to turn!"

"You're a monster," Rodrigo growled.

"Am I?!" Monokuma innocently placed his paws on his chest. "I merely enforce the rules! Society cannot function without rules! Our dear game designer learned that lesson in his final moments!"

He shrugged. "Oh well! You all have the rest of the day off! As I said before, classes will no longer be held. I'll send you a monomail tomorrow with exciting new academic opportunities!"

Ashley waved her hand like she was asking a question in class. "Dean, who is responsible for the laundry now that Therion is dead?!"

Monokuma waved his paw dismissively. "Oh, I forgot to tell you. The chores were just to help you murder each other. They're pointless now. Do your own laundry."

"What?!" JP yelled. "We stayed up all night for nothing?!"

"No, I told you! You stayed up all night because it helped there be a great murder! Remember, murder is all this program _is!_ " He hopped down and walked towards us, shooing us with his arms. "Now, go, go! Trial's over! Get on the elevator!"

 **TRIAL ELEVATOR**

As we slowly ascended, I felt a a hand on my shoulder. Too tired to be startled, I turned. Earl's handsome, stoic face looked back at me. "Good work, Wild," he said.

"Yeah!" Emily agreed. I smiled softly and looked around to see at least grudging respect or appreciation on everyone's faces... except then I saw Giuseppe. His gaze was icy, dark.

"What does the paper say?" Juliet asked, and I realized I had forgotten about it.

"Oh. Um, I don't know." I unfolded the paper Therion had given me and looked down at it. It was so shocking, I almost stopped breathing.

It was a printed-out pdf; it looked like it had been scanned. There was a list of all of our names on it in alphabetical order, along with the year and "Fall term" at the top.

But the shocking thing was the handwritten part next to it. In neat, precise script, someone had written: _"Participant DR-001333 once again refused to graduate and will therefore be re-enrolled in the Killing Game this term. Subsequently, only fourteen new recruits are required and the attached list is therefore complete."_

Earl took the paper and read it himself, paling. Wordlessly, we passed it around the elevator.

"Only fourteen...?" Katy asked. "But..."

"One of us is the mastermind," Jane said softly. "But... someone else has been here before? Someone went through this before and decided to come back?!"

"Multiple times!" Rocky nearly yelled. "Who would do that?!"

"Someone here, right now," Bepi answered, his expression even darker than before. He looked around at the group. "'Refused to graduate.' It doesn't sound like the holdover and the mastermind are exactly on the same side."

Ashley put her hands on her hips. "I don't suppose the holdover wants to make it easy, do they? Tell us who you are?"

No one said anything.

"Maybe it was Therion or Morgan?" Juliet offered hesitantly.

"Maybe," Giuseppe agreed, but he looked as unsure about it as I felt. With a ding, the elevator stopped and the doors opened. Despite the fresh air coming in from outside, I felt like I was suffocating.

 **DORM: SAYA'S ROOM**

It had been early evening when the trial ended, and I think everyone just wanted to be by themselves. I had tried to talk to Bepi, but he grunted one-word responses and left. I felt like it was understandable, but a piece of me felt slighted. Hadn't he appreciated what I'd done in the trial?

I was lying on my bed, trying and failing to sleep, when I heard a knock on the door. I rose and lurched over to it. "Who is it?"

A piece of paper emerged from the gap under my door. Even standing, I could read: _Lucina_.

Taking a slight moment to prepare as charming a smile as I could, I opened the door. She stood there, looking anxious and concerned. She held up a note: _May I come in?_

I stepped back and she entered, the door closing behind her. "Oh, come have a seat," I said, but she shook her head. _Not staying long._

I paused. "Um... okayyy. What's up?"

She frowned, writing up a new note. _You knew from the beginning Therion had changed the sheets. Why didn't you mention it earlier?_

I paused, confused. "Uh. I was trying to build a case. I wanted everyone to understand the way the crime went first. We all had to talk it out."

Her eyes narrowed slightly. _You also pretended to get things wrong so people could correct you._

Before I could reply, she wrote again. _You let people think they came up with the ideas you were trying to lead them to._

I took a step back, feeling strange energy in my chest. "What is your problem? I'm the reason we're still alive right now. I did what I had to do."

Her response was quick: _I appreciate and respect how you were able to figure it all out._

Her followup was even quicker: _But you enjoyed it, didn't you?_

"Enjoyed what?" I felt my forehead creasing in defensiveness. "Look..."

I didn't know I could be interrupted by a piece of paper, but she whipped it out so forcefully I stopped talking. _You enjoyed knowing that you could manipulate everyone however you wanted. You enjoyed watching Therion twisting in your net. Right?_

"This is ridiculous; I don't deserve to be criticized like this!" I snapped, anger beginning to take over.

 _I want to trust you. More than anyone else here, I want to trust YOU._

 _But you terrified me today._

I barely noticed that my fist was clenched so tight, it hurt. "What are you doing? I saved your life! What if I hadn't done that?" I glared. "Maybe I won't, next time! Maybe the next time there's a murder, I'll just let us all die! Do you want to die, Lucina?!"

She held up her hand, palm first. I was shaking; my cheeks were wet. She smoothly turned and just walked right out the door into the hallway.

I stood in my empty room, crying, cold.

* * *

 _Q: Tell me about your parents._  
 _TS: Not much relationship. Normal people._  
 _Q: What did they teach you? What's the most important thing you learned from them?_  
 _TS: Suppose... independence. Need to take care of self. Other people aren't important._  
 _Q: What do you mean by 'not important?' You don't care about others?_  
 _TS: I do care. But it's agitating to have to rely on them. Tiring to deal with them. Part of why I make games._  
 _Q: Hm? What's the connection to games?_  
 _TS: Game is way to relate that doesn't require presence. Can give the game to others, then get out. But I'm still there, in a way. Because my game, my mind, still part of their life. They engage, interact, play, and I can be gone. [_ long pause] _It's a form of immortality, I suppose._


	13. History of Hellenistic Art II: Part A

**New Hope University School of Ultimates Campus, North** **Quad:**

Conveniently located near student dorms, the North Quad is the center of campus night life, in more ways than one! This quad is the home to the Arts Center, which houses multiple facilities as well as a 1000-seat theater! Most nights, there will be a play, a concert, an improv comedy performance, or a studio showing! Plus, it's not uncommon to find dedicated students chasing their muses well past midnight!

Next, stop by the the historic REDACTED House, the home for Greek Life on campus! Here, students explore and form the social bonds that are so important to a university experience. (Note: University administration has no authority over activities that occur in this location, as the REDACTED House is technically its own, independent microstate. Occupants are subject neither to the rules of the university nor to the laws of the United States. Students are encouraged to never enter REDACTED House under any circumstances)

 **Hazel Arts Center**

This ultra-modern complex contains facilities for drama, music, painting, sculpture, computer-arts, film, photography, and more! Perform for cheering crowds in the 1000-seat theater! Use our digital cameras and editing equipment to create your own short movies! Use any of our private studios to paint or sculpt your masterpiece!

 _Murder weapons:_ Plenty of poisonous chemicals in the photography lab. Most sculpting tools. Most musical instruments can be weapons if the wielder is creative. 

**REDACTED Memorial House**

This historic location has been a hub of Greek life on campus since REDACTED. Numerous fraternal organizations have operated out of the house, including REDACTED and world-famous members such as REDACTED.

The house consists of two main parts: a large social area, perfect for games, events, parties, and brunches; and the living area, which consists of a comfortable suite and even a REDACTED that can be used for REDACTED!

 _Murder weapons:_ REDACTED

* * *

 **STUDENT UNION: CAFETERIA**

I had the same dream again, Monokuma talking to me, but blessedly silent. There was one new addition: Therion standing off to the side, just staring at me. It made the dream considerably more unpleasant, but I figured, if he was going to haunt anyone, it should probably be me.

I headed down to breakfast at the usual time, thankful that everyone else seemed to still want to stick to the same schedule. Even Barrett was there, gloweringly talking to Nicole and Rocky.

I got my Grape Nuts, hoping the oddly quiet atmosphere was not due to my presence, and looked around the tables. Katy was waving and smiling at me, but she was sitting at a table with Emily and... Lucina. I decided to suck it up. I went over to their table and sat down.

"Good morning!" Emily said warmly, but she sounded exhausted.

Katy was far more exuberant, but her manner was kind of shy when I sat down. "Hi! How'd you sleep?"

"Pretty badly, but that's probably normal." I glanced over at the fourth member of our table. "Good morning, Lucina."

Lucina slid a piece of paper onto the table. _I'm going to my room._ Then she just stood up and walked away.

A piece of me was angry, but a larger piece was just distressed. I guess it showed on my face, because Emily said, "Oh dear. Is... is everything all right?"

I sighed. "Yeah, um... I don't think she's speaking to me right now." There was a silent moment as I realized what I had just said. "Writing to me. Whatever."

Katy frowned. "She's sweet, but I'm not sure I really get her."

Emily looked down, as if embarrassed. "Um... do you... trust her?" We must have looked very surprised, because she waved her hands in apology. "No no... I'm not saying I don't trust her! I... I've never been in a life-and-death game before! I don't know what to look for!"

"I thought I did trust her," I said, sighing. "I don't know. It won't do any good to get paranoid."

"I know, but that was about the mastermind," Emily said. "I hadn't thought that... well, it's not just the mastermind we have to worry about, right? It's others who might try to... kill us." She said the last two words in a hushed whisper, like a child repeating a profanity.

"That's not gonna happen!" Katy insisted. "Therion was nuts. And even he wasn't nuts enough to kill someone that wasn't also nuts!"

"I hope you're right," I replied," but if this game has happened before, then the mastermind has gotten pretty good at getting students to kill people."

"Well, we're better than that," Katy insisted. I thought about arguing further, but I suddenly remembered something more important.

"Oh... Emily. Are you all right after yesterday?"

"You mean... my secret?" She hung her head sadly. "I... it's horrible, but not as horrible as a murder. I really don't remember that day, but..."

Katy placed her hand on Emily's in a genuinely sweet gesture. "Hey, we all believe you. Everyone here knows you wouldn't do something like that on purpose."

Emily nodded gratefully. She pointed at her own eyes. "You've probably noticed my... swirls. I didn't have them before that day. The doctors said it was the head injury."

"They're beautiful," Katy said, smooth as silk. "I'm not making a pass at you, I promise. I'm just telling you the truth."

Emily blushed and started to say something, but a high-pitched beep echoing around the whole room stopped her short. Our tablets were giving us an alarm.

"Good morning, students!" bellowed a voice from the doorway, and Monokuma suddenly appeared there, posing like a model. "I just sent you all a Monomail! Did you get it?"

"Why do you show up in person to tell us you sent us an email?" Nicole asked, annoyed.

"In my day, we didn't have emails!" Monokuma snapped. "We talked in person. We knew our neighbors! We lived with respect and dignity!"

"Then why did you send an email at all?" Jane asked.

Monokuma waved his little arms around in fury. "Because it's so convenient! Shut up, shut up! Read your Monomail! It tells you that one of the fences in the quad has been opened up, so you have access to a new part of campus!"

Rocky looked up from his tablet. "Yeah, like, it says exactly that. In so many words. What do you want us to do about it?"

"Explore! This campus exists for you to take advantage of! And who knows? Maybe some sneaky bear hid more information about the campus or its employees?"

"'Maybe?'" Bepi asked.

"Pu hu! Nothing is certain! If we taught an epistemology class instead of just a Murder Class, you'd learn that." With a flourish, he disappeared.

"Excellent!" Earl exclaimed. "New areas to explore and a philosophy lesson, both at the same time! Let us proceed after breakfast!"

Bepi stood up to get people's attention. "Yes, but... everyone please be careful, all right? Don't forget what this place is."

"Forget?!" Rocky's voice was thick with bafflement. "Think we're in danger of forgetting? Tell that to the severed head I see whenever I close my eyes."

"It's useless," Jane remarked. "All of us either have our guard up all the time, or are never going to smarten up, no matter what."

 **NORTH QUAD**

After finishing my meal and taking a short rest, I ventured to the newly opened area. The north quad was large and confusing: a grassy expanse with hills and walkways. A huge, stone wall, mounted with barbed wire, machine guns, and the everpresent cameras surrounded the whole space, giving it a weird, amoeba-like shape. I could see three exits, the small stone doorway back to the main quad, a very modern-looking building directly in front of me, and an older, almost rickety building to my left.

I noticed Emily and Jane standing near a small footbridge, and I walked closer. Emily waved shyly, but Jane rolled her eyes.

"Have you explored the new buildings?" I asked.

"Ugh, yes," Jane grumbled. "They're useless. A huge waste of time for people like us." She looked me up and down with disdain. "Perhaps someone like you would enjoy them."

Emily stepped forward between us, giggling nervously. "Um, what she means is... we were hoping one of the new buildings would be a science lab of some sort. But no such luck, I'm afraid."

Jane sniffed, brushing nonexistent dirt off her coat. "The recruiters promised state-of-the-art facilities; it's one of the reasons I agreed to come here. I hope someone else gets murdered soon so we can finally access them."

"Jane!" Emily gasped, seeming legitimately horrified.

Jane sighed. "It's just a joke, darling. I was given some basic equipment in my suite, but nothing really useful." She raised an eyebrow at me. "This isn't just for my benefit. If scientific minds like ours are given true laboratory equipment and space to collaborate, we could develop a way to escape."

"Really?" I scratched my head. "I mean, you're both obviously really brilliant, but do genetics and astrophysics really, um, go together?"

"Oh, they do!" Emily exclaimed, clasping her hands in front of her heart. "Predicting the source of hereditary traits and predicting the origins of celestial movement is very similar, mathematically! I never have a chance to apply my work practically, and assisting Jane would be a wonderful way to start!"

I raised a skeptical eyebrow but just sighed when I saw how sincere she was. "Well, okay. I'm going to check out these buildings, I guess."

Jane shooed me away with her hands. "Yes. Go play with your little army men or whatever it is you do."

"Yes," Emily added, cheerfully oblivious. "I hope I'll see you soon, Saya!"

Deciding it wasn't worth it to start a fight with Jane, I proceeded to the modern building in front of me.

 **ARTS CENTER: MAIN LOBBY**

I found myself in a large, atrium-like lobby. Other than exit outside, there were four large doorways, each marked with a different symbol: a man in a frilly, Elizabethan collar, a drum next to a clarinet, a video projector, and an artist's easel.

"Saya!" Rocky burst out of the drum/clarinet door, startling me. "Have you seen this place?!"

I put my hand on my chest, tryng to slow my breathing. "Agg. Uh, no? What is it?"

"Fucking paradise!" He stormed past me. "They got mixers and samplers I didn't even know were out yet! An Akai Ram-3x! 3x!"

"3x."

"Fuck yes; I am going to LIVE here. I gotta go get all my shit!" He ran out the door, leaving me literally scratching my head.

 **ARTS CENTER: THEATER**

I decided to go into the frilly-collar door, but I froze halfway through. I was in the back of a large theater, chandeliers and balconies above me, rows of plush seats stretching out before me. There was a beautiful, oak-colored stage at the front of the room, and standing on it, with her back to me... was Lucina. She held her arms up and out to the side, very slightly moving them. I realized she was conducting.

She was conducting nobody, and even if we hadn't had our conflict, the scene felt so intimate and personal, I felt like a horrible invader. I quietly backed back out the door, hoping she'd never known I was there.

 **ARTS CENTER: VISUAL ART SUITE**

I decided to check out the easel-door, and I found myself in a large, white room, walls spattered with paint and clay, art supplies strewn around messily. Giuseppe stood off to the side, frowning at a discarded, half-completed painting. Ashley stood near him, looking annoyed.

Bepi glanced up at me and waved. I walked closer, hesitant because of his coldness the day before.

"Saya," Ashley grunted.

"Um... hey," I said. "You guys... checking out the art complex?"

Giuseppe nodded. "And talking about Morgan. He would have loved this place, right?"

I nodded. "I wish I'd been able to see him at work here. If only it hadn't been for the Vandal." I sighed. "I don't think I even blame Therion as much as the Vandal. Morgan deserved better than to get taken over by that."

Ashley rolled her eyes. "Even if we believe in multiple personalities, which I don't by the way, it's still him. He was both."

Bepi looked at me. "Saya, you talked to him more than most of us. What did he want? Why would he be so bitter that he'd need the Vandal?"

"He wanted to be recognized as a painter," I answered. "He kept hoping the art world would accept him. He really thought his acceptance here was validation. I can't imagine how devastating it was when he heard that was a lie."

Giuseppe grunted. "Needing to be recognized by institutions. That's... a rough way to go through life."

"No, it isn't," Ashley argued. "There's another term for a painter that isn't 'recognized by the institutions.' It's _shitty painter_. The authorities and experts of art are in that position for a reason. The only way to know you're actually any good is if they say so."

"They're arbitrary and stupid," Bepi said.

"Oh, okay then," Ashley fumed. "It's all arbitrary, so I guess there's no such thing as a bad painter. Everyone's just equally good; there's no such thing as talent or skill or ability, because nothing means anything."

Giuseppe shrugged. "Maybe nothing means anything."

I raised my eyebrow at them. "For two people who disagree on everything, you guys sure do hang out a lot."

Ashley rolled her eyes. "To keep my debate skills sharp, I need to be constantly challenged. Giuseppe is wrong, but at least he _has_ a philosophy."

"In a place like this, it's not a bad idea to be around someone who keeps you on your toes," Bepi said. He smirked. "Plus, she's too chickenshit to go hang out with Earl."

Ashley just glared. Then she said, icily, "After I become president, you're going to jail." And then she just stormed out of the room.

I blinked. "She wants to be president?"

"She has a twenty-year plan. Don't ask her about it if you value the rest of your day."

I gave a small laugh from his wry tone, but an odd tension suddenly filled the room, so I couldn't manage much. There was a vague, uncomfortable silence.

I found myself wringing my hands awkwardly. "Um. Are we cool? After the trial yesterday, you seemed kind of... mad."

"Hm? Oh." He shook his head smoothly. "You just kind of surprised me, is all. I could tell you're a secret bad-ass, but you were playing the whole room... like a chessmaster, I guess. I probably shouldn't be surprised."

"I was just doing what I thought I had to do. Is... it bad?"

"No. Just inconvenient." He rubbed the back of his head and sighed. "You know, I started fighting when I was ten. And in all my time in the field, I have never killed a civilian."

"Really?"

"Not once. And thank God for that, because it changes something in people. I've seen grunts go rotten in that one second they figure out they zonked an innocent kid." He took off his hat and rubbed a palm on his shaved head. "I gotta trust my instincts, and they've told me you're not an enemy. Maybe it's stupid, but I can't ignore what worked in the past."

He sighed. "Look. You're smarter than me. Smarter than almost anyone else here. But no one's as smart as they think they are. This manipulative shit is all well and good, but if anyone sees through it, that's a target on your back. For my sake, just... keep it subtle, okay?"

I frowned. "For your sake?"

"I'm already sleeping with one eye open to protect my own ass. I don't have other eyes to spare on keeping you safe." He blinked. "That metaphor kinda got away from me."

"No. No, I get it." I was vaguely aware that he was giving the same basic criticism Lucina had, but I didn't find myself nearly so threatened or upset. I tried not to think about why. "Do you think everyone could tell?"

"Nah. I knew, because I investigated with you; saw the same evidence. Therion knew because he did the crime, and because he was apparently a fucking criminal mastermind." He squinted at me. "...Why? Has anyone else said anything?"

His look was so intense and suspicious I found myself unable to answer for a moment. "Um. Kind of?'

"Who?"

I couldn't say it; I just stammered a moment.

"Whatever; it doesn't matter anyway. Just... listen." He leaned closer, intense. "I can think of two reasons someone might confront you about this. One is they're like me: they're concerned and want you to be safe. The other... is that they want you to doubt yourself. And I can't think of a non-suspicious reason someone would want to do that. Do you know which side this person was on?"

I couldn't reply. He sighed. "Look, just remember the second container in the bank vault."

"Uh, what?"

"The second container in the bank vault." He looked at me dryly.

"The B Safe."

 **NORTH QUAD**

After leaving the visual art suite, I glanced into the film and music suites, but there was no one there... just a bunch of equipment and instruments I didn't know how they worked.

I went back out to the quad and regarded the other building. It was old, designed like a very large house. There was a big main entrance in front. I noticed, to the side, an extension to the house, which looked newer and had its own door. I decided to head through the main entrance first.

 **FRAT HOUSE: MAIN ROOM**

Upon walking through the door, I was immediately greeted with a vague sour, musty smell and Earl's boistrous cheer of celebration.

"I am victorious!" he bellowed. "No cushion of wind can addle my strategic mind!"

I looked at the source of the sound to see him standing on one side of a large air hockey table, holding a fist in the sky. Juliet stood opposite him, a rather unconvincing look of disappointment on her face. "Oh, darn it," she pouted. "You're just too good for me."

Earl laughed boisterously then walked around to clap her on the back. "A worthy contest, Mountebank!" He noticed my presence and threw his arms in the air. "Wild! Commendations to you for exploring! This recreation center appears to have no useful information regarding our dilemma, but relieving tension can be an important goal in and of itself."

I looked around. Besides the air hockey table, there were two foosball tables, a couple of arcade machines, a collection of board games, and a pile of hackeysacks, frisbees, and bean bags. The room itself was large and lived-in, with worn, lacquered wood everywhere, raggedy old carpets, and filthy chairs and couches. There were stairs heading up to the side, and a doorway to a large kitchen.

"It's a frat house!" Juliet announced cheerfully. "At least, that's what JP said. He was really excited about it." She giggled charmingly. "Seems like a really fun place to have a party, right?"

"I guess." I looked around. "Where's JP now?"

"I think he went around to the side part," Juliet replied. "But I'm not sure? He just yelled 'Trip Chi!' and ran off."

"I'm intrigued and excited by this location," Earl stated. "As the highest ranking officer on this campus, it's my responsibility to find tasks that maximize your agency and your utility! Laettner's organizational abilities and frivolous disposition mean he's perfect for keeping stress levels low." He gave me a charming and slightly manic grin. "Wild! Please go search for him and inform him of his new role! Mountebank deserves a fair rematch!"

Juliet averted her eyes humbly. "Oh, if you insist. Gosh though, you're just too good!"

"Uh..." But it was too late. Earl was already perched over the air hockey table, calculating angles.

 **FRAT HOUSE: LIVING AREA**

I left the frat house and went around to the other door. I found myself in a surprisingly comfortable apartment with modern, clean furniture. Rodrigo sat in a beanbag chair in the middle of the room, looking completely bewildered.

He waved and I walked over, trying enormously to ignore that his monk's robe was not designed for sitting with the legs up. "Hi. Are you... enjoying that?"

Rodrigo frowned. "JP told me to sit in it, but I don't understand why. Is it a test of my mettle?"

"I think it's just an uncomfortable chair."

"Ah." Rodrigo fidgeted slightly. "It is as it should be, then. I couldn't protect my classmates and friends. I deserve this beaned bag as penitence."

I felt awkward, but I understood. I squatted down next to him. "No one had any idea what Therion was going to do. You can't blame yourself, especially since you've been adjusting to this new technology."

"The monks who raised me put a great emphasis on penitence and atonement. They said, to find God, one must suffer for one's sins."

"Rodrigo... people don't really believe that so much anymore. It doesn't help do better in the future."

"I know! That was one of the beliefs I wished to escape when I came here." He cast his eyes down to the floor. "But now, feeling helpless amidst this violence, I'm not certain anymore."

I wasn't sure what to say, but at that moment, a voice called out from a hallway to my left. "Hey, Roddy, who is that? Is that Saya?" It was JP.

"Yes, it's me!" I replied.

"Oh man, you guys, gotta check this out!" he called. "This is amazing!"

Trying not to think about JP's definition of 'amazing,' I reached down to help Rodrigo to his feet. He politely took my hand, but he barely pulled on it as he stood; he just kind of rolled himself up using pure ab strength. We headed down the hallway towards JP's voice.

 **FRAT HOUSE: THE TOMB**

We stood in the doorway at the end of the hall, gaping at what was before us. "JP," I managed to say.

JP looked up from the stone altar he was examining. "Yeah?"

"JP." I actually don't swear much. But as I beheld the walls covered with vaguely masonic symbols, the dark cloaks hanging off to the side, and what appeared to be manacles and BDSM equipment, I just couldn't keep it in. "What the fuck is this."

"Dude." He was grinning fantastically. "I don't know! I heard about shit like this at the Trip-Chi national headquarters, but this is crazy, isn't it?"

"'Tis a terrible dungeon," Rodrigo muttered in horror.

JP glanced over at the manacles, whips and chains. "Nah," he said breezily. "I know what that stuff is. That's just... uh... well, let's just say it's there to help new members... bond with the rest of the group."

"It's for hazing?" I asked.

"No! We don't like that word. Hazing is bad. This is for _bonding_. Bonding is good."

"Right." I felt like there were more important things to worry about. "Is that a giant stone altar?"

"Yeah! This is some real Da Vinci Code shit, huh?" He stood back and let us look over the altar. It looked ancient, covered with odd, dark stains.

"I get an evil feeling from it," Rodrigo said.

"Yeah, but just think about it," JP enthused. "This is where future leaders of America would meet to connect with the rituals of their fathers. You know? The elite of this generation, wearing the same robes and conducting the same grotesque rituals that were done a century ago."

"I don't believe it's good to be so strongly connected to the past," Rodrigo said. "Ay, I know the dangers firsthand."

"No, it's not like that," JP argued. "This is just... old shit is meaningful, you know? You're feeling the same thing some dude felt two hundred years ago; that's gotta be something important, right?"

I found myself unable to reply, because that was when I noticed the daggers. "Oh good lord, what the hell are those things?"

It was two daggers, hanging on the wall above the altar in an X pattern. They were long and gnarled, like something a Klingon would make, and they were clean and shiny, very different from the gritty dirtiness of the rest of the room.

"Those look very dangerous," Rodrigo glowered. "I fear this foul place was made to serve the Devil."

"Serve the... oh come on!" JP was clearly getting annoyed. "No, I know what these are! They don't have anything to do with the altar, anyway. These are for bonding, too."

We must have looked pretty skeptical, so he frustratedly reached out for the daggers. "No, look, here's how it-OW!" He pulled his hand back; a small bead of red appearing on his fingertip. "Goddamn, that's sharp." He more carefully reached out and took the daggers. "Here's how it goes. One of these is real, and the other one is fake." He pressed one of the blades into his hand; nothing happened. "But they look exactly the same. See? So what you do, you dress up in creepy robes and you all surround the newbie, and you like cut into an apple or something, so he see how sharp the knife is. Then..." He chuckled to himself nostalgically. "Then you all grab him and shove him on the floor, and you take out the other knife and act like you're gonna stab him with it! See?" He looked at us expectantly.

"I'm not certain," Rodrigo said finally.

"You switched the knives!" JP explained. "So it won't hurt him! He just _thinks_ he's going to die! It's a joke!"

Rogrigo and I glanced at one another. "Ha ha ha?" I ventured.

JP was about to say something else, but a squeal from the doorway interrupted him. We looked to see Juliet standing there, taking in the room with amazement. "Oooo! This is cool!"

JP nodded at us smugly. "See? Juliet gets it."

"Um, what?" Juliet asked cluelessly, but she quickly recovered. "Anyway, we found something by the kitchen you guys should check out! C'mon!"

Apparently glad to have the subject forcibly changed, JP set the daggers down on the altar and followed her out of the room. Rodrigo and I followed, confused.

 **NORTH QUAD**

As we left the living suite out to the quad and then headed around the building to the main entrance, I noticed Juliet looking at me shyly. She fell in step next to me, her huge, beautiful eyes dewy. "Saya," she breathed, "I just wanted to say how amazing you were at the trial yesterday, summing everything up for everyone."

I could not keep from blushing. "Oh. Um. Really?"

"Oh, yes! You're so brilliant, Saya. I was so scared, but the way you spoke up, it made me feel like everything would be okay."

I was literally speechless, memories of Lucina and Bepi totally gone. Juliet flashed a brilliant smile and ran ahead to lead us to our destination.

 **FRAT HOUSE: WALK-IN FREEZER**

We were guided through the main room, into the kitchen, and then finally through big, metal doors into a large, walk-in freezer. I was completely unprepared for what we found there.

"Oh, fuck yeah!" JP exclaimed.

It was beer. Cases and cans and kegs of beer; all kinds, everywhere. Hundreds, maybe thousands of liters of beer.

Earl strode up to us, placing a firm hand on JP's shoulder. "Yes! What we need, and what this room allows... is a party!"

Juliet clapped her hands in joy. I felt a little uneasy.

* * *

 _FACT 1: Monokuma opened up the north quad, which has two buildings attached to it._

 _FACT 2: One building is an arts center. There are four sections: film, theater, visual arts, and music. Each is very, very well stocked with high-quality equipment._

 _FACT 3: The other building is a frat house. The main part of the frat house seems to just be a place for throwing parties, with a rec room and kitchen._

 _FACT 4: A separate, unconnected part of the frat house has a little apartment in it, as well as a creepy room with an altar. JP implied this room would be both for hazing and for weird rituals._

 _FACT 5: The altar room has two daggers that look identical. One is real and very sharp; the other is fake._

 _FACT 6: There's an enormous amount of beer in a freezer next to the kitchen. Earl wants to use it to throw a party._

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE: All right, we're off and running with chapter 2. Same question I had last time: Are there any characters people especially want to see more of? I'm happily discovering the various ways they're all fun to write. And if you request the person you think is the mastermind or holdover, you might get more clues...**

 **Oh, and I can't help but appreciate the tragedy that the one person who correctly identified last chapter's murderer and a lot of the important details... was the person who submitted the character to me in the first place! At least Therion's impact will outlive him.**


	14. History of Hellenistic Art II: Part B

**STUDENT UNION: CAFETERIA**

"A party?!" Ashley was reacting pretty much exactly how I expected her to. "Are you all insane?!"

"No," JP answered. "But we're gonna GET insane! Yeah!"

"This is just the stupidest..." Ashley paced back and forth, waving her arms in the air as she ranted. "I am amazed, I am absolutely flabbergasted that any of you would be so stupid! A party with alcohol during a murder game?!"

"Hold up," Rocky said, raising half of a french fry up for attention. "Will this party need music?"

"You bet it will!" JP enthused, Juliet clapping enthusiastically. "And you're the guy!"

"Agh!" Ashley stomped back and forth, growling wordlessly.

Emily raised her hand nervously. "Um... it does seem a bit reckless. Do people intend to get... inebriated? Won't that put us in danger?"

"We'll make it safe!" Juliet said. "We can have chaperones, and the rec room doesn't really have any hidden places. We'll all be around each other."

"It'll help in the end," JP insisted. "Think about it. We've all had fun together, all been vulnerable with one another. How can anyone commit murder after that?"

"Uh, like this," Ashley said. She held out her hand in a gun shape. "Bang, you're dead."

Earl walked up to her, smiling generously. "Coelho, your eye to security and practicality are important and appreciated! We need your voice reminding us to stay safe." Ashley began to blush as he threw his arm around her and cast his other arm forward. "But picture it! A social event, helping us to form cohesive bonds! A night to relieve stress, under supervised conditions. And you are the one to decide how to make our event as safe as can be!"

Ashley looked at him blankly for a moment, then regained her senses. "This is a terrible idea. But if everyone promises to follow my rules exactly, we can make it minimally terrible."

JP looked like he was going to protest, but a sharp glance from Earl stopped him. "Well, fine," JP said. "As long as there can be beer and good friends, we're set, right?"

"Is this beer even any good?" Nicole asked.

"Whatever you like, we got!" JP answered cheerfully. "We can all even have our own pony keg, if you want. Come by to reserve yours, okay?"

"Excellent!" Earl exclaimed. "The party will be two nights from tonight. It will be a glorious time!"

We all vaguely dispersed to finish our dinner; I sat with Bepi and Emily, chatting normally. But, when I was finished and on my way out, I was surprised when Nicole stood up and waved to get my attention.

"Hey," she said. "I was wanting to check out the costume shop over at the theater in the arts center. Want to come with us?" She nodded over to Barrett, who nodded back. "We kinda had something we wanted to talk to you about, too."

I paused for a second. "All right," I said eventually. All three of us left the cafeteria.

 **ARTS CENTER: THEATER: COSTUME SHOP**

Nicole chatted pleasantly as we walked; Barrett said nothing. When we arrived at the theater, we followed Nicole backstage and into a side room. It was completely filled with costumes: clothes, wigs, and even masks.

"Isn't this awesome?" Nicole asked, picking up a nearby Victorian-looking dress and rubbing her fingers on the fabric. "Think of the shit I could do with this!"

"Aw yes," Barrett muttered. He was holding a terrifying rubber mask, of a wrinkly, scary old man. He pulled it down over his head. "Hey, make me something right chilling to wear next time I'm on television, eh? Horror movie shit, so I can scare those smug fucks at the top."

I blinked. "'At the top?'"

He peeled the floppy mask off, glowering at me. "The ones in power, right? Men behind the throne. They're the real fuckin' enemy."

"He's right," Nicole added breezily, examining a loincloth. "Greedy sons of bitches, ruining everything for everyone." She glanced over at me. "Saya, I told you about the guy I stabbed, right? To protect my family?"

I glanced over at Barrett, who seemed completely unfazed by what Nicole said. I looked back and nodded. "Yeah."

"Well, the dude deserved it. My little brother..." She paused, shook her head as if to clear it, and then looked back at me. "Anyway, but I don't blame him. It's not his fault, not really. We fight every day. I've seen people get killed over a hundred bucks." She looked legitimately infuriated. "Neighbors shouldn't be murdering each other. My family shouldn't be competing with every other family for scraps. It's just in Their best interests to keep us fighting each other."

Barrett was poking at a hazmat suit. "Remind you of something? A little game where people hurt each other instead of going after the ones really in charge?"

I frowned. "I... guess? It seems a little..."

But then suddenly Nicole was right in front of me, staring me down with an intense expression. "You ever heard of Romeo San Marcos?"

I took a step back, surprised. "Uh... maybe? The name's kind of familiar."

"He's a rapper, writes musicals. Super famous. Gareth MacGregor? Does like a million podcasts. Katia Allen? UFC champ?"

I confusedly looked from her to Barrett and back. "Yeah, okay. What about them?"

Barrett kicked a rack of clothes dismissively. "Fuck, didn't you look shit up before you came here? They all graduated from here. This program. Our fucking program."

My mouth slowly fell open as I realized what they were saying. "Hold on. So... if this killing game has happened before... if it's what this program _is_..."

"Uh, yeah," Nicole said. "Then a bunch of super-famous, super-successful people all survived it. And didn't tell anyone. What the fuck?"

I wasn't sure what I could possibly say.

Barrett spoke up with his interpretation. "It's indoctrination, right?" He sniffed violently. "Like whassiscalled, Stockholm Syndrome. Bring a bunch of people onto your side."

" _Their_ side," Nicole clarified. "The side that wants us fighting each other. Getting fat off exploiting the rest of us. The _system_."

"How could that work?" I asked. "Monokuma openly said he's doing this because he hates how young people mess up all society's systems. Why would we all suddenly agree with him after he's traumatized us like this?"

"Not all of us would," Barrett answered, eerily still. "Maybe fuckin' Ashley or that monk. But not me or Nicole. Or you." His eyes bored into mine. "But ain't it lucky not everyone survives this little game, eh? Ain't it interesting the first one killed was the one going around fucking everything up, telling us all to fight back?"

I was quiet for a moment. "All right," I said eventually. "You're saying the whole point of this killing game is to indoctrinate the ones who can be indoctrinated ... and kill off the ones who can't?" They nodded, and I scratched my head skeptically. "I mean... I don't know, guys. Ashley's most sympathetic to Monokuma's perspective, and I can't even imagine her going the way you say."

Nicole shrugged, draping a fake fur stole over herself. "Well, if you can think of another reason why Romeo San Marcos wouldn't be screaming all about this, let us know." She looked at me. "And just heads up. I don't think you're one of those Stockholm Syndrome people. So that means They're trying to take you down. Keep your eyes open."

I nodded and suddenly felt awkward... that felt like a goodbye. I started walking to the exit, but as I passed Barrett, he suddenly grabbed my arm. "Oi. You ain't one of the bad ones, so listen. I dunno when, but I am going to burn this fucking place to the ground. Before I do, you'll get one warning." His eyes looked like they were on fire. "One. Warning. Understand?"

I nodded.

 **ARTS CENTER: MAIN LOBBY**

As I stepped into the main lobby, I saw Katy standing there, looking a bit befuddled. She gave me a wave that was somehow both shy and confident. "Oh, hi," she said. "I was just walking around trying to get some ideas. Want to come?"

"Ideas? What do you mean?"

"Story ideas!" She beamed. "Love between artists can be really romantic. Like, I was thinking of checking out the movie section. A romance between actors would be really sweet, right? Oh!" She held up a finger in sudden realization. "Especially if they're rivals fighting over the same part! C'mon!" Without waiting, she turned and skipped cheerfully into the film-focused part of the building. I followed, more confused than anything else.

 **ARTS CENTER - FILM SET**

The film set was a large, black room with lights, tangled wires, and various complex rigging structures. There was a large greenscreen set up in the middle of the room, presumably to serve as a backdrop for filming. But most noticeable of all... were the mannequins.

"Oh my god, those things are terrifying," Katy mused, examining them more closely.

She was right. They were human-sized and looked to be poseable. They felt eerily fleshlike to the touch, but their heads were completely blank; no face at all. One of them wore an afro wig, for some reason.

"Maybe they're to help, like, blocking?" I suggested. "I wouldn't be surprised if the mastermind just put them in here to be creepy, though."

Katy rubbed her chin in thought, then whirled on me with odd glee. "You know what these mannequins are? They're misunderstood! Judged for things beyond their control! But what if two of them fell in love?!"

"...but they don't have faces."

"Saya! You do not need a face to have a tragic, impossible love!"

"...I guess I can't argue with that."

Katy nodded smartly, then gave me a sneaky glance. "Speaking of love..." She sidled closer, smirking. "You and Emily? Hm?"

I blinked. "What about me and Emily?"

"What about the idea of you and our lovely, little astrophysicist getting together?"

I took a step back, stammering. "What! No! She and I..."

"You're attracted to her. I can tell."

"No! I just..." Sputtering, I realized I was getting out of control. I took a deep breath, pressing a hand against my chest. "Katy. Listen, yes, I am attracted to Emily. But I'm out for the first time in my life, and I'm in a really scary, dangerous situation. I'm kinda attracted to everyone right now."

She started to say something, then she coughed. "Oh. Well. I think you should go for it."

I sighed. "She's straight."

"So were you, a couple of days ago."

I felt a strong desire to change the subject. "Look, can we... uh, you said you wanted to tell me more about lesbian romance. Can we talk about that right now?"

Katy grinned. "Okay, but I'm bringing this up again later!" She danced over the a mannequin and leaned against it casually. "Let's see, I told you about the history in the U.S., so the next thing is the history in Japan! Yuri!"

"Lesbian romance is big in Japan?" I mused. "Huh. And it's an influence for you?"

"Of course! Japanese art... it understands something about the world which is really key to romance." She scrunched her face up in thought for a moment. "Like, here: _Furu ike ya. Kawazu tobikomu. Mizu no oto_."

I looked at her blankly. "I don't speak Japanese."

"Me neither, but isn't it beautiful? It's a haiku. Really famous. It's just about a frog jumping in the water. But it shows the two important things yuri adds to lesbian romance. First: Gentleness."

"Hmm. What does gentleness mean?"

She hugged the mannequin playfully and smiled at me. "It means subtlety. Implication. That haiku just describes a moment; anything important or meaningful about the moment is up to the reader. It doesn't say what anything is. And that's how romance works best, too! Two girls... meaningfully looking at one another at a special moment. Their hands touching softly, just a little bit. Everything is under the surface, hidden, ambiguous. Those girls are in love! But maybe!... they're not in love."

I raised an eyebrow. "So... the way to present romance between girls... is to make it so no one can tell if there's any romance between girls?"

"Yeah! Romance is best when it's ambiguous and vague! That makes it pure, see? Just beautiful, innocent feelings."

I glanced back down at her finely manicured fingernails, jutting out from her fingers. "I see. What's the other element you get from yuri?"

"Well, think about the frog poem. It's just a moment. Just splash, and it's done. So Japanese art is also about how everything is ephemeral." She clasped her hands and looked up with dewy eyes. "True love between girls is a special light that burns brightly and then fades. With both joy and sadness, we will look back upon the springtime of our youth!"

"Wait." I held up my hand; I thought I couldn't be surprised by Katy's theories on romance, but she kept doing it. "So what you learn from Japanese lesbian romance is... to make the lesbian romance so ambiguous and innocent, people can't even tell it's there, and to have the romance end before the characters even grow up."

"Yes. That captures the graceful, beautiful moments that are central to lesbian romance."

I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose. "Katy... I asked you this before, but... have you ever actually dated another girl?"

She blinked at me, surprised. Her hand went up to the locket around her neck, holding it gently. "Yes, I have."

"Okay... because, I mean, I'm not any kind of expert on the lesbian world, here, but... it seems like the reality is..."

"That's the point," Katy interrupted. She suddenly looked sad, playing idly with the locket, staring at the floor. "I don't want to portray the reality."

I couldn't think of what to say. I walked closer, took her other hand in mind, and just held it for a moment. "I get it," I said finally, giving her hand a squeeze.

She blushed, still looking down at the floor. "Um... this is a weird conversation to have surrounded by flesh-mannequins."

I laughed, dropping her hand. "Good point." The moment was broken. "Do you want to keep looking around for ideas?"

"Yeah. Let's do it." She smiled, genuinely.

 **DORM: COMPUTER LAB**

After spending a little more time with Katy, I decided to get some exercise. On a whim, I went looking for a particular classmate to ask to join me on my run. I found him in the computer lab, staring with bafflement at a word processing program.

Rodrigo looked up at me when I came in. He waved, a friendly smile on his face.

I walked up to him. "Hi, Rodrigo. Are you learning how to use that?"

"Ay. 'Tis an irritation." He gestured to the keyboard. "At first I believed it was so simple. Press a symbol; the symbol appears. But the foul triangle keeps moving, and it changes where the symbols appear!"

I glanced at the screen. "Most of us learned this stuff when we were kids, so we kinda don't think about how we do it. If you want help, let me know."

He nodded ruefully. "Perhaps later. I am at my wits end, now."

"Well... I was going to ask if you wanted to exercise with me. I can show you how to use a treadmill."

"Oh!" He clapped with delight. "My best workouts at the monastery were when I was chased by Hector, the mad bull. Is it a device that simulates that sort of experience?!"

I blinked at him. "You know what? Kinda."

 **GYMNASIUM: CARDIO ROOM**

After changing our clothes, we got on adjacent treadmills and set them moving very slowly. Rodrigo was awkward a first, but his ridiculously muscular body soon got used to the machine, and we began a slow jog. "Amazing," he mused. "To constantly go, and yet to go nowhere."

"Okay, well, you phrased that about exactly as dark as you possibly could, but I'm glad you like it." I glanced over at him. "Hey, can I ask you something? You really never saw any modern technology before you came here?"

"Not that I can recall," he answered. "I was born in a small village in the Cantabrian Mountains, and I am led to believe that my home had electricity and similar amenities. However, the monks came to claim me shortly after my birth, and they took me to the monastery near Toledo, in central Spain."

"The monks just... claimed you?!"

"Ay. They said my coming had been prophesied, and paladin training was my birthright. My parents were well compensated, both financially and with grace of the Lord."

I gradually increased my speed to more of a trot; Rodrigo followed suit. "Oh my god, I didn't know this kind of thing actually happened. It's illegal! You can't just take a baby!"

Rodrigo glowered. "The monks said this was a case where the laws of man conflicted with the laws of God. I lack the wisdom to argue against them, but I cannot bring myself to agree."

"You're pretty serene about all this. I can't imagine how I'd feel if I was taken from my parents as a baby."

"'Tis the only life I've ever known," Rodrigo replied, shrugging. "I am determined to become a paladin and to fight for my church and my Lord. But I will do so in the real world."

I was silent for a moment after that. We increased our speed again and loped along; we were both in good enough shape to keep from breathing too hard.

"Oh," I said finally. "I wanted to say, your English is really good, for someone from Spain. You don't even have an accent."

He glanced at me curiously. "Yes, they taught me English at the monastery. Likewise, I had wanted to compliment you on your Spanish."

I squinted at him. "Um... Rodrigo, I don't think I've ever spoken Spanish in front of you. And if I had, you probably wouldn't be impressed."

He looked totally baffled. "But Friend Saya, we are speaking Spanish right now."

"Wait." I slowed my treadmill down so I could focus on him without hurting myself. "Wait. Rodrigo, no. We aren't speaking Spanish. We're speaking English."

"We're... what?" He kept running perfectly, despite the confusion on his face. "No! This is Spanish!"

"I promise, it's not. Didn't you think it was weird a bunch of Americans all spoke Spanish?"

"I thought you were all being very polite."

I regarded him for any hint of deception or sarcasm and perceived none. "Okay, you said you knew English. Could you speak some English for me?"

He nodded. "Of course! 'Jag pratar svenska.'" He looked at me hopefully. "'Var ar biblioteket? Kan du salja lite kokain? Han har ingen aning om att detta verkligen ar svenska.'"

"Rodrigo, I don't know what language that is, but it's definitely not English."

His face darkened. "Then this is yet another cruel lie the monks are responsible for." He shook his head ruefully. "Ah well. All I can do is remind myself their influence fades, while God's is forever."

I just regarded him for a moment then found myself smiling. "I'm rooting for you," I said. He gave me a genuine smile back. I turned up my treadmill, and we both ran.

 **DORM: SAYA'S ROOM**

After finishing my workout, I went back to my room and collapsed into bed. I had slept so badly the night before, I really needed a lot, and even though I'd only seen Lucina once or twice, the whole thing was just... draining.

In my dream, Monokuma yammered away silently, and Therion stood behind him. At one point, he stepped forward. "Best games operate under simple rules of suspense," he said. "Players settle into groove. Then, at unexpected moment? Bam. Things change."

I woke up in a cold sweat.

 **STUDENT UNION: CAFETERIA**

I sat with Emily and Jane. I tried not to resent Katy, who was sitting with Lucina, chatting away pleasantly.

Emily glanced down at her cereal, frowning. "I sometimes miss a full, British breakfast," she said sadly. "I never ate tomatoes or beans; I always just liked Corn Flakes or Frosties. But now that I see Americans don't eat them, I want some."

Jane sniffed. "I just want a decent cup of tea," she grunted. She seemed to be tolerating my presence, but she still sneered at my cup of coffee. "Vile concoction. I can't understand how you do it."

"Why don't you just change the molecules of coffee around and make it taste like tea?" I asked, honestly not sure if I was teasing her or not.

"I would, if I had a decent centrifuge and some agar," she replied haughtily.

Emily leaned forward, apparently overcoming nervousness to ask this next question. "Are you girls... looking forward to the party?" she whispered.

Jane rolled her eyes. "It seems terribly unnecessary and dangerous, to me."

"Oh." Emily frowned. "I was... well. I was thinking it might be really fun. I've never been to a... a real party. And I've never..." her voice dropped to a whisper again, "...had alcohol."

Jane and I glanced at one another; Emily was almost unbearably adorable. "Well, if you go, you're sticking to my side all night," Jane announced. "No harm in being safe, after all."

I was about to say something, but a clanging noise interrupted me. Ashley stood in the middle of the room, banging a fork against a ceramic plate. "I have devised rules about the party that will take place the day after tomorrow!" she announced. "These rules will be posted publicly! No one will be allowed to come, and particularly to partake in alcohol, until they have demonstrated to my satisfaction that they have read and understand them!"

Rocky groaned. "Aww man, I don't even understand what you _just said_!"

"Furthermore!" Ashley continued, ignoring him, "I will need at least two volunteers to serve as chaperones! These individuals will help maintain security and may not drink alcohol. If no one volunteers, then the party will not take place."

Rodrigo stood up. "I have no intention to imbibe," he said.

After a moment, I raised my hand too. "I'll do it."

"Aww, Saya!" Juliet moaned. "I figured Roddy wouldn't be drinking, but you don't want to have fun with everyone?"

I shook my head. "Uh, no. I am way too recently out of the closet to drink. That's just a bad idea."

"Thank you for volunteering!" Ashley screeched. "I will speak to you about your duties!"

"Puhuhuhu!" a voice laughed. We all turned to see Monokuma standing on top of a table. He held a phone in his hand, and he typed away on it. "It's wonderful you all are enjoying the new parts of campus!"

Nicole waved her hands at him, rolling her eyes. "Oh, fuck off."

Monokuma stomped his feet, still looking down at his phone. "That's no way to talk to your... wait. One moment." He typed silently for a moment. "There. That's no way to talk to your adviser! I am here to inform you that I just sent you all a Monomail, and also that you're all spoiled babies!"

Beeps suddenly went off all around the room as we received the email. Monokuma nodded in satisfaction. "It says that all students must report to the auditorium immediately for a special announcement! Puhuhuhu, how ominous! I wonder what the announcement is for!"

"Uh, actually?" Rocky said, looking at his tablet. "It says that all students must immediately report to the _euphonium_. I think autocorrect got you, dude."

"Waaagh!" Monokuma stomped in fury. "Just go! Everyone just go!"

 **GENERAL EDUCATION BUILDING: AUDITORIUM**

I was not enthusiastic to go back into the auditorium. Everything had been cleaned up; there was no sign of the murder at all. But still, that one seat where Morgan's body was just glowed. I felt weak.

I sat with Emily, Jane, Bepi, and Rodrigo. I saw Lucina come in and thought she might come to us. But to my surprise, she walked to the other side of the room and sat with Rocky. He grinned and began speaking to her.

"Mmh," I grunted, frowning. "That's weird, isn't it?"

"Hm?" Emily looked over. "Oh! No, I think it makes sense! They're both musicians. I think it's nice DJ Rocky is opening up to someone."

Bepi glanced at me. "I agree," he said. I tried to minimize the glare I found myself giving him.

With a sudden boom, Monokuma bounced out of apparently nowhere into the front of the room. He surveyed the seats carefully. "Good! Everyone's here. Let's begin."

He paced authoritatively across the floor. "I'm very disappointed in all of you!" he announced. "All this time, and only one murder so far!"

"Did Romeo San Marcos do better?" Nicole called out.

Monokuma stopped moving. He stared at Nicole; his expression was the same as always, but somehow I could tell it was a death-glare. Then he just kept pacing like nothing had happened. "I decided you all need some encouragement! A motive!"

"A motive?!" Juliet exclaimed.

But Earl just laughed confidently. "I believe in my classmates! You can give us any motive you wish."

"Oh?" Monokuma tittered. "Maybe you're right! I can't fight my own programming."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Barrett asked.

"It's simple! If there's not a murder soon, I'm going to need to find someone to blame. And that person is going to suffer a punishment! Not execution, no no. That's too easy." He grinned and looked around the room. "The punishment will be the severing of the spinal cord. If there isn't a murder before a certain period of time, determined by me, then one of you... will never walk again."

Before we could even recover from that, he raised a paw. "But! I understand your worthless, childish generation." He stomped back and forth in rage. "I hear you whining all the time. 'Oh, nothing is my fault! Everything's just out of my hands!' So, I'll do you a favor! I'll only punish someone who's the kind of person you all blame for everything, anyway." He stopped and stared. "I'll only punish someone... who's a white male."

There was a bit of an uproar, as confused as it was appalled. "This is insane!" JP protested, louder than the general din.

"Oh, don't blame me!" Monokuma said innocently. "I'm just doing what you idiot kids love to do, anyway!"

Rocky raised his hand. "Uh, I'm gay," he said. "Do I count?"

Monokuma tilted his head. "You're gay? Christ, you goddamn kids are all _gay_ , aren't you? Fine! DJ Rocky K doesn't count."

Giuseppe raised his brown hand. "Um, I actually don't really know how white I am," he said. "Do I..."

"Shut up! Shut up!" Monokuma pointed out at the room. "I decide who's a white male and who's not! JP Laettner! Giuseppe Perfetto! Earl Morale! Barrett Wood! Rodrigo Diaz! You are the white males! And you're on a time limit."

"How long?" JP asked.

"I won't say! It might be next week, it might be five minutes from now. Better hurry!" Giggling, he disappeared.

The room was silent for a moment. We looked around at one another, unsure and confused.

Then, suddenly, Earl stood. "We must have a meeting and a discussion!" he barked. "Let us adjourn to the lounge in the dormitories!"

We filed out of the room, tension nearly suffocating.

 **DORM: LOUNGE**

We sat around in the various seats and couches of the lounge in a vague circle. It reminded me of the trial, and I felt very uncomfortable, but no one could think of any other way to actually discuss things. Lucina stood off to the side, hugging herself and looking down at the floor. Barrett leaned against the wall with mock-casualness. The rest of us just huddled.

"Okay," Giuseppe said. "This is stupid, right?" He looked around at the others: confident Earl, confused Rodrigo, anxious JP, and stewing Barrett. "Legs for a life. It's an easy choice."

"Of course!" Rodrigo sputtered. "None of us could be so cowardly!"

Earl nodded. "Monokuma believes he understands us. But a man could never live with himself after doing what he suggests! Am I right, my friends?!"

Barrett scoffed. "Let the fuckin' bear come. I won't do shit he wants me to do, no matter what."

"An excellent attitude!" Earl enthused. "Let him come! It's no great sacrifice. I already intend to spend my life in the greatest wheelchair of all: a tank!" He gestured to JP. "Laettner! Your social gifts and business savvy will in no way be hindered by the inability to walk, yes?!"

JP looked at him for a moment, vaguely trembling, then he swallowed and nodded. "I wasn't thinking about it that way, dude. You're right."

Rodrigo stood up. "A paladin is trained to protect others no matter the circumstances," he said. "I may be hindered if I cannot run, but I know God will be with me." He glanced at Giuseppe. "But, Friend Bepi. Your talent requires athletic ability."

"My talent's a shit sandwich," Bepi replied. He looked around with his one good eye. "I've seen grunts get their legs blown off on purpose to try to get sent home. Always envied their guts."

Juliet looked around at everyone, worried. "So... so that's it? You're all saying you... plan to just let the time limit come?"

"Let it come!" Earl bellowed. He stood and glared up at a camera, sticking out of the ceiling. "Do you hear, foul villain?! We are men, and we are brave, and we stand tall in the face of your motive!"

Nicole walked to the center of the room. "Hold up," she said. "This manly shit is all great, but for the rest of us, what matters is trust. Get me? How can the rest of us believe you guys?"

Earl opened his mouth to talk, but Jane cut him off. "We can't." She looked coolly around at everyone. "But we never could. This doesn't really change anything."

JP glanced at her, then at everyone. "I'm gonna be totally honest, here," he said. "I might kill someone to save my own life, but anything short of that... I just couldn't. It'd totally wreck me." He shuddered. "I think this motive just isn't going to work. All these strong guys aren't gonna fall for it, and all us little weaklings are too chickenshit." He glanced up at the camera, too. "So, yeah. Bring it on, Bear Man."

Juliet was tearing up. "You... you're all so amazing! It's so wonderful to see men who can be men!"

All five of them, even Barrett, seemed at least a little affected by her praise. Ashley, with an annoyed glance at Earl, took a step forward. "All right, all right. The matter's settled. Now, Saya, Rogrigo! I need to meet with you to discuss the party!"

"Whoa, hey," Nicole said. "Uh, you sure the party's still on, with the motive and everything?"

"We're no more or less in danger now than we were before," Ashley insisted. "The party will proceed." She waved a hand at me and Rodrigo, then turned and strode to the door. "Come on!"

Glancing at each other, Rodrigo and I followed her out.

 **DORM: COMPUTER LAB**

She led us into the computer lab; she marched to the front of the room and pulled out one of the rolling office chairs. She perched herself on top, her feet dangling over the floor.

I pulled out two more chairs and gave one to Rodrigo. We pushed them near her and sat. She nodded in satisfaction.

"Are you sure about this?" I asked. "I don't mind staying sober, but this party..."

"The party must go on," she snipped. She gave us each a look. "We will discuss your duties. I'll write them on this computer, as it helps me remain organized!" She hopped off her chair, wheeled it over to a computer, and jumped back on. Bewildered, we followed her.

She had a word processing program open, and she was typing. _You are both not unintelligent, so I'm relieved you didn't figure it out on your own. This party is not simply to help us relax. It's a trap. Only Earl and I know._

I glanced up at the ceiling. A multitude of cameras pointed every which way, but none pointed directly towards the screen of the computer she was using.

"It is important," she declared, "that you pay attention to the partygoers who may be overpartaking in alcohol!"

 _The party will allow people to drink to excess_ , she typed. _The mastermind is unlikely to allow themselves to be so distracted and vulnerable._

"If you note anyone who appears to be demonstrating an unhealthy level of intoxication, or who appears to be hiding how much they're really drinking, then you must alert me immediately!"

 _I'm aware either of you might be the mastermind. But if so, we lose nothing: you were not going to drink, anyway. And you see again how unwilling we are to play your game._

She turned away from the computer, eyeing us. "I'll get into the details tomorrow. But, do you both understand the basics?"

We nodded, and she gave a small smile (the first smile I think I'd ever seen on her face). "I'm looking forward to working with you both."

* * *

 _FACT 7: The party will be held in two nights. Rodrigo and I will be working with Ashley to chaperone._

 _FACT 8: There's a costume shop at the theater with a huge variety of clothes, wigs, and Halloween masks._

 _FACT 9: Barrett and Nicole pointed out that some really famous people have graduated from this program. Either these people didn't go through a killing game, or they somehow survived it and won't tell anyone._

 _FACT 10: There are goddamn terrifying mannequin things in the film studio. They're truly horrible._

 _FACT 11: Monokuma announced a new motive: If there isn't a murder in some set period of time, he'll cripple Giuseppe, Barrett, Rodrigo, Earl, or JP. All five insist they are not compelled by the motive._

 _FACT 12: Ashley and Earl set up the party as a chance to gain information on the mastermind, reasoning that whoever they are, they won't be willing to get drunk._


	15. History of Hellenistic Art II: Part C

**DORM: SAYA'S ROOM**

I spent the rest of the day to myself in my room, thinking about chess. I hadn't been able to do that for a while. There was something seductively comfortable about the near-infinite patterns that branched out of each game like a fractal, something I could lose myself in so easily.

I remembered how mom had encouraged me to get into chess. She never said it was because of the social benefits, but every time she picked me up from my chess club meetings, she was always so interested in talking about the other kids, and there was always a little disappointment when I just wanted to talk about the game. I never said anything about how it made me feel, because what could I even say? "I want to complain that you're being supportive but not in the exact right way?"

I mean, she wasn't like dad; she didn't just think I was...

...Anyway, here I was in college, and just like everyone said, it was a new start, and people were more willing to get me, even with all my weirdnesses. Of course, they might only be doing that to figure out how to kill me, which was not anything my old high school guidance counselor had said to prepare for.

When I finally fell asleep, my dreams continued their typical patterns. Monokuma brandished a meat cleaver, but he was utterly silent. Therion stood in the background, stoic and cold. He looked up at me. "Suspense."

He rubbed his throat as if it was difficult to talk and continue. "Suspense when inevitable happens, but it might not. Suspense is: dead cat, still dead." His voice faded and he bent over for a moment, wheezing. He recovered, stood upright, and resumed speaking. "Fell out of tree when I was young. Was falling for almost one full second. Remember that second. Waiting to hit ground. Waiting forever, within one second. Thought, 'Maybe I won't hit ground.'" He stared. "That's suspense."

I woke up groggily, slowly, feeling completely unrested.

 **FRAT HOUSE: MAIN ROOM**

I walked in, expecting to see something different from before, but no: It was just the same couches and seats and dirty rugs. I guess it made sense... the space was already made for parties, so not much had to be done to prepare for a one.

I heard voices coming from the kitchen, so I headed in that direction, trying to keep myself from wondering what might have happened on these couches over the years.

 **FRAT HOUSE: WALK-IN FREEZER**

JP wore a heavy coat, and he tilted a keg up so he could see the sticker on the bottom. "Nope," he said.

Jane stood nearby, folding her arms across her stomach uncomfortably. She looked over at me when I walked in, started to say something, stopped, and then sighed. "Saya."

"Yo, Saya!" JP greeted. "Have you picked out what beer you want, yet? Everyone gets their own pony keg!"

I glanced at the kegs, all lined up; a bafflingly enormous amount of alcohol. The kegs were each silver, blank except one small sticker that apparently indicated the kind of beer and the brewery. I wondered how anyone could keep up with this many variations. "Um, I'm not drinking, remember? I'm with Ashley and Rodrigo."

"Oh yeah. Well, that doesn't matter! You should still be able to have your favorite, even if you can't drink at the party! What do you like?"

"I'm not really sure," I answered. "I haven't had beer that often." I glanced over to Jane for help. "What do you like?"

Jane sniffed with vague offense. "I'm... a bit of a special case."

"I'm trying to find something non-alcoholic for her," JP added, sticking out his tongue in disgust.

"It's... not a particularly sound idea for me to drink alcohol," Jane grudgingly clarified.

"Yeah, she's a super lightweight, or something," JP added. He glanced over another keg's label. "Whoa, ok, no, that one's super alcoholic."

"I am not a _lightweight_ ," Jane replied, glaring. "My body's chemical make-up is... unusual. It's one of the consequences of my... ambition."

I squinted at her. "Um. What are you talking about, unusual?"

"I don't particularly want to get into the details," she said, still haughty. "Just suffice it to say, there have been times in the past, especially when I was younger, that I needed to perform some tests, and no other... subjects were available."

JP froze, then looked up at her in confusion. "Hold up. You experimented on yourself? Like, your own genes, or whatever?"

"Before one walks, one must learn to crawl!" Jane defended. She sighed and held up her right arm, still clad, as always, in her elbow-length glove. She reached up with her other hand and peeled back the glove about two inches.

Her arm was green. Like, garish lime green. "Whoa, holy shit!" JP exclaimed.

Jane rolled her glove back down. "I have a number of... peculiarities. I assure you, none affect my mental abilities in the slightest. But as one consequence, alcohol affects me in... ah. Unpredictable ways."

"Unpredictable."

"Yes. Unpredictable." She apparently had no need to explain any further than that.

"Hm. Why don't you just drink soda, or water?" I asked.

"Because then I'd have to have this exact conversation a thousand times at the party, and I didn't even like having it once." She huffed. "I've told Emily, because she has the proper scientific orientation, but..."

"Aha!" JP suddenly yelped. He grabbed a keg and dragged it out into the open, then rubbed his hands together to bring back the warmth. "Check it out, non-alcoholic! Some kind of pale ale. Do you like pale ales?"

"I suppose it'll do."

JP pumped his fist. "Yeah! Tri-chi!" He looked at me. "C'mon Saya, what do you like? We got like everything."

"I don't know... what's everyone else having?"

JP indicated a row of small kegs set up in a line, pointing at each in turn. "Earl's got something called 'dunkel,' Juliet has some kind of fruity lambic, Barrett's got a stout, Nicole took a lager, Emily has an IPA... dude, we got everything."

I blinked, then threw my hands up helplessly. "I have no idea."

"I'll figure it out!" JP said cheerfully. He squinted at me in concentration. "I'm thinking... Guinness. But I don't know for sure! I'll let you know."

Jane rolled her eyes and left without another word. But JP was so cheerful, I couldn't feel much but appreciation. "Thanks."

 **ARTS CENTER: VISUAL ARTS SUITE**

I decided to head back to the painting studio, where I'd run into Bepi and Ashley. I felt a strange impulse to remember Morgan. I was apparently in no danger of forgetting Therion, but Morgan... he had been such a mystery; he splashed into my life and just as quickly was taken away.

Even if the Vandal was a part of him, I needed to remember the kind, odd boy who never got to grow up into anything.

I found myself in front of an abandoned, half-complete painting, sitting lonely on an easel in a corner. It had a vague face-shape, just a blob of grey. I wondered what Morgan would do with something like that; how he'd see it with his artistic eye.

I picked up a couple of mostly-empty tubes of paint: red and green. I squeezed a little of each onto my fingers and left dots scattered all around the top of the head... little blips of multicolored hair.

Morgan had believed that if he just played by the rules, then eventually, somehow, he'd be rewarded. The gatekeepers of art would just swoop down and notice him and discover his genius. But the Vandal had thought the only worthwhile thing was to destroy all the rules, just cause chaos and fear and confusion.

I picked up another tube of paint; this one was black. I squeezed it onto my hands, but this time, I just threw it at the canvas. It splattered onto the face-shape, leaving just an ugly splotch.

Of course, neither one got what they wanted. Morgan was never noticed; he just struggled and struggled, and the art world ignored him. And if Monokuma was right, the Vandal's chaos was embraced by the art world. The gatekeepers and experts weren't cowed or alarmed; they championed him as a revelation.

I suddenly felt so, so sad he was dead. He was stuck in this bind, and he never was able to find a way out.

I somberly walked over to a big, metal sink in the corner and rinsed my hands off as well as I could. As I turned the water off, I was surprised to hear sounds coming from a nearby door. Curious, I walked over to it and hesitantly pushed it open.

 **ARTS CENTER: VISUAL ART COMPUTER LAB**

I found a computer lab, much smaller than the one in the dorms, but with more expensive-looking computers and a bunch of weird scanner/printer devices that looked extremely complicated and intimidating. Nicole sat at one of the computers, clicking away on a mouse, muttering to herself.

"Oh, hey Saya," she said when she saw me. "Has your hair always been like that?"

"Like what?" I asked.

"Oh!" she exclaimed instead of answering me. "I haven't forgotten your turtleneck outfit, I promise. But I just gotta think some more about the shade of black for it, you know? Pure black, you'll look like a mime or something. You need, like, navy blue or purple-black."

"Uh, okay, wow," I said, scratching my head idly. "Thanks for putting so much thought into it."

"I gotta! You won't." She paused, then resumed clicking. "Was that an insult? Sorry if that was an insult. I just meant, you think you won't ever look cute, so you don't try." She paused again. "Wait, that's worse. I mean, you're scared of being a sexual being, so you artificially lowered your own self-esteem." She paused again. "Wait..."

"Okay, I think I get it!" I interrupted. "Please, please stop trying to make it better."

"Cool." She focused back on the computer. "Hey, take a look at this, will you?"

I went over and glanced at her screen. She had some sort of photo manipulation program open, a huge, esoteric set of options sprawled across the screen. In the middle, looking odd and unimportant, was a page I recognized from Nicole's sketch book: a design of some kind of long coat.

"Fuckin' mac shit..." Nicole muttered. "Do you know how to use this thing? I'm just trying to, like, select stuff."

"Uh, no," I replied. "Sorry, I've never used a program like that."

"Ugg," she grunted. "It's like, super easy to do all this stupid filter crap, but I can't _select_ anything." She clicked around on the set of options. "Ooo, look, I can make it all sepia-tone! Now it looks like a kid's crayon drawing! Now it looks all metallic!" She sighed. "If I wanted to make a coat out of crayon, I'd..." She trailed off, tapping her chin in thought. "Saya! Remind me that I totally want to make a crayon coat, okay?"

"Um... when?"

"When what?" She blinked, then growled in frustration and pushed back from the computer. "Ugggh, this thing is awful. Oh!" She looked up at me. "Glad you're not murdered yet, by the way."

I didn't know what to say, so I just went with, "You, too."

She smiled, so I guess it was okay. "You got a strategy for how to stay alive?"

"Not really. Just... hope there aren't any more murders."

She gaped at me. "No more... Saya!" She shook her head violently. "Don't think like that! Of course there are going to be more murders. There have to be!"

"Why?"

"Think about it!" She gestured around the room. "I don't think it's some coincidence this new stuff got opened up after Vandalman got killed. That's gonna happen every time. Someone told me the only escape is through some 'administration building,' and I don't see that around anywhere, do you? They'll open that shit up once there's only a few of us left."

I frowned; I had a difficult time arguing with her. "So... this 'escape' thing is a trick?"

"Nah, not a trick. Just not going to happen until more murders are pointless anyway. They make us play their game over and over, and by then..." She trailed off and shrugged. "Dunno. Something bad."

I sighed. "Maybe? I think the truth is, we just don't know anything."

"Well, I know I want to survive, and I don't see any reason this game won't go a few rounds before we're through with it. You want my advice, do the same as me: keep your head down, stay in the background, play along, watch your back."

"...How do you do all that?"

"Grey-black!" she suddenly exclaimed, startling me. "That's your turtleneck color. And it's easy. You just gotta teach yourself to do more than one thing at the same time."

I just looked at her for a second, then I sighed. "Thanks for the advice, Nicole."

"Any time! I mean it, Saya, you're cool. Fucking MAC SHIT!"

I decided to excuse myself while she was still raving.

 **DORM: LOUNGE**

In the afternoon, I reported to the lounge as Ashley had directed. I found her with her arms crossed, annoyed. Juliet stood across from her, peering down at a piece of paper and scratching her head in confusion. Rodrigo sat nearby, looking uncomfortable.

Juliet looked over at me hopefully. "Um... can Saya help?"

Ashley rolled her eyes. "Ugh, no. This is all just common sense! You're at the party, and you see someone passed out in the corner, and you could murder them. What do you do?"

"Um..." Juliet looked up hopefully. "...Not...murder them?"

"Okay," Ashley replied. "And...?"

"...Stay with them? To make sure no one else hurts them?"

Ashley scowled, then sighed. "Fine, I'll accept it. You may attend the party."

"Yay!" Juliet squealed, clapping.

"But for the record!" Ashley grunted, "the correct answer was to go get a chaperone!"

"Ohhhhhh," Juliet said, in such a way that did not at all communicate she really understood.

Ashley waved her hand dismissively. "Just study the rules before tomorrow night."

"Will do!" She grinned at all of us. "Thanks so much for helping!" She bounced over to me and grabbed my hands. "Saya, are you absolutely positive you won't be able to party with us?"

"Yes, she's sure!" Ashley snapped. Juliet frowned gorgeously and, with a happy farewell, skipped from the room.

"The greatest tragedy," Ashley muttered to us, "is to have high standards in a world of low standards."

I looked at her. "If the world has high standards, then why would you need low standards?"

"You talk to Giuseppe too much." She huffed. "My parents taught me that only the very best is acceptable, and I'm not going to drop that just because I'm surrounded by idiots and slackers." She frowned. "Juliet is so smug. The only reason she looks like that is because her parents were easy on her. They spoiled her."

I glanced at Rodrigo; he seemed as uncomfortable as I felt. I didn't want to egg Ashley on, but I was also scared to leave her hanging. "Um. How do you know they spoiled her? Maybe they didn't."

"Because look at her!" Ashley fumed. "All... tall and developed. You know she got three meals a day like clockwork, no matter how good her grades were."

"Three... wait, Ashley, you think she was spoiled because she was given three meals a day? Your parents didn't feed you?!"

"Of course they fed me!" Ashley snapped. "I didn't starve, did I? They just refused to give me _all I wanted_ to eat. They made sure I didn't grow up entitled!"

"Entitled to _food_?!" I felt like I was talking to some kind of hologram; this couldn't possibly be a real person describing her real life.

"Yes!" She put her hands on her hips and glared at me. "You aren't going to start that whole 'oh, your parents were abusive,' thing, are you? As if kids should grow up expecting protein, even if they get an A minus?"

I stared at her, baffled, but Rodrigo cautiously stepped between us before I could speak again. "I... believe I understand what Friend Coelho is describing," he said gently. "My upbringing was not so different. I also sympathize with Friend Wild's perspective. I believe that at least for now, we must simply respect one another's experiences."

Ashley grunted. "Fine."

I glanced between them and paused when I saw the look on Rodrigo's face. He was angry, but it wasn't directed towards anyone else in the room. He was angry at Ashley's parents, I realized. But he knew it was bad for us to argue.

"Right," I said. "Sorry, Ashley."

Ashley nodded to me but did not say anything. She picked up a piece of paper. "These are the rules for the party. All the attendees have been given a copy, but we must post others in prominent places, in case any of these idiots loses theirs."

I thought she might still be trying to pick a fight by calling them idiots, but I did not take the bait. I just picked up some tacks and some pieces of paper, and the three of us left to hang the rules up all around.

 **DORM: SAYA'S ROOM**

That evening, I retired to my room early, still bothered by the conversation with Ashley. I wondered if Giuseppe knew about her upbringing; if part of his motivation in arguing with her so much was to shake her loose from her rigidity.

Around 9:00pm, I was surprised by a knock on my door. I walked over to the entrance, almost unconsciously grabbing my stun gun and slipping it into my pocket. "Who is it?"

"It's I!" Emily's shy but happy voice answered. Smiling, I opened the door.

She wasn't alone. Juliet stood with her, waving to me, and Jane crossed her arms over her chest, looking annoyed. "Oh," I said, "hi, everyone."

"We wanted to go stargazing," Emily said. "I don't have any equipment here, and my work doesn't really actually involve anything but computers and maths, but sometimes I just really want to go look at the stars. Do you want to come with us?"

I simply couldn't keep from smiling when confronted with such an offer. I nodded. "Do I need to bring anything?"

"We already got a blanket!" Juliet answered. "Just..."

"Time to go," Jane interrupted, walking off. Juliet pouted, but I guess we were all pretty used to her personality. We all just followed her.

 **NORTH QUAD**

Juliet spread the blanket out on top of a small hill in the center of the quad. Neither the art center nor the frat house emitted too much light at night, and only the paths were illuminated, so we got a pretty good view of the stars. We all just lay down, looking up.

As usual, my mind found a way to race (multiplication tables), but I was comfortable there, with the others.

"Hey, Emily," Juliet spoke up. "Teach me something about space, okay?"

"Hm? Teach you what?"

"Anything! Just something you think is cool."

"Um." Emily's voice faltered a little, but just for a moment. "All right. Do you see those two bright stars just above the horizon?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, look above them and to the left. Do you see kind of a... squished square?"

"Uh huh."

"Well, you can just very barely see it, but right in that space is an entire other galaxy. The Andromeda galaxy. It's not all bound up with us; it's a totally different thing."

"Whoa..." Juliet breathed. "I wonder what it's like there."

"Me too." Emily's voice was quiet. "It's all just... gravity to me, most of the time. When I look like this, it's more real."

"It's probably just the same as what we're used to," Jane said. "The rules of chemistry aren't bound by galaxy. Life is life; rocks are rocks; energy is energy."

There was a pause. "That's sad," Juliet said finally. There was a longer pause, and then she added, "Sometimes I wish I could go to somewhere totally different. Someplace that doesn't have the same... everything."

"Hmm." I raised up onto my elbows and looked over at her. "I'm surprised to hear you say that. I wouldn't think you'd want to be far away from your sweetheart."

Juliet gave me a brilliant smile. "You're right! I'm so silly; I can't be a good girlfriend from a galaxy away!"

Jane glanced over at her. "Who is this 'sweetheart' of yours?" she asked with just a little snideness. "Someone from high school?"

"Oh, goodness. It feels like I've known my sweetheart my entire life." She sat up, biting her lip in thought. "My sweetheart is... everything. My whole purpose. I'm not sure what else to say."

"Uh." I sat up too, frowning. "Juliet, it's not... I mean, most people don't think it's really all that healthy to say things like that."

"I know! People tell me that alllll the tiiiiiime." She was still grinning. "And I know you think differently from me, and I still think you're wonderful and really, really smart! But I just have to believe that love is all that really matters. If I'm living for my sweetheart, that's the only way I'm really living."

I started to say something, but footsteps interrupted me. We looked over to see Rocky walking up to us, waving. "Yo!" he greeted. "What are you guys doing out here?"

"Stargazing!" Emily replied. "Would you like to join us?"

"Stars! Hardcore!" That wasn't really an answer to Emily's question, but he threw himself down on the blanket anyway.

"Say," Jane said smoothly, "tell us the truth. Are you really gay, or was that just a trick?"

"Wha? No, I'm totally gay. That woulda been really smart, though, huh?"

"That's a shame," Juliet said, scrunching up her face into a frown. "You're so handsome!"

"Aw thanks, dude," Rocky replied breezily, his lack of any further reaction entirely convincing me of his gayness. "But I thought about it, and I wouldn't be too upset even if I was one of those guys. I can make my beats from a wheelchair!"

Emily looked around. "It is a bit odd. This motive is... it's certainly horrible. But I'd expect the mastermind to be scarier. Torture or execution or... something!"

Juliet shook her head forcefully. "Oh, no! No, you're missing everything about it. It's horrible because of who they are!"

She looked at us as if it was entirely obvious what she meant, but she frowned when she saw our baffled expressions "They're men," she explained. "Men need to do and act and... and do! I know being in a wheelchair wouldn't be worth killing for any of us, but that's because we're not men!" She glanced over at Rocky. "Straight men."

We looked around at one another; clearly, no one really knew what to say. "I'm... not really sure about that," I ventured.

"Men are men and women are women," Juliet insisted. There was another uncomfortable pause.

"What are you saying?" Rocky asked. "One of those guys is gonna try to kill someone?"

Juliet gasped. "Oh, no! Of course not! I believe in the men here. I believe in all of us! But we should just know... it's not the same for them. They're being so strong."

I thought of arguing, but Juliet was being such a weird mix of sweet and dogmatic, I wasn't even sure how. Finally, Emily just said, "Oh, Rocky, were you working on music tonight?"

"Yeah, dude!" Rocky grinned widely, as if nothing had ever been awkward. "I'm amped to give you guys something for the party tomorrow night! You're all going, right?"

We nodded, Emily blushing as she did. "I'm...a bit new to university parties, though. It won't be too overwhelming, will it? Just... just being around everyone? I admit to being a little nervous in such a big social setting."

"It'll be great!" Rocky enthused. "You shouldn't be worried; everyone loves you!"

Emily blinked. "They do?"

"Naturally they do," Jane said. "You're a scientist. And you exude charm, darling."

Emily was clearly bright red, even in the dim light. "...Really? I don't feel charming."

Juliet gasped. "Oh! I have a wonderful idea!" She grabbed Emily's hands. "I'll help you get ready tomorrow! I'll do your make-up and hair!" She emitted a sound that was dangerously close to an actual 'squee.' "When you make your entrance, no one will be able to look away! You'll feel like the beautiful girl you are. Those guys won't know what hit them!"

Jane looked like she wanted to protest, but she caught herself and frowned. Oblivious, Juliet just grinned at everyone. "Do you want to come, too? Sorry, Rocky, boys not invited!"

"Uh, no," I said. "Sorry, I have to meet Ashley before the party."

Jane regarded Juliet with narrowed eyes. "I'll pass as well," she said haughtily. She glanced sideways at Emily. "But... please remember, darling, you said before you'd stick with me at the party. That's doubly true if you're planning to be all done up. You can't trust people here." She snorted.

"Oh, of course, Jane!" Emily replied, very sincerely. "It means so much you'll help me! And I remember what you said: Don't drink anything unless I pour it myself or you give it to me."

Jane nodded smartly, and Juliet clapped. "Hooray! This is going to be wonderful. Every day, we're all getting along more and more."

And then, as if irony was cuing it, Rocky spotted a figure walking across the quad and waved. "Hey, Luce!" he called. "Luce, over here, yo!"

Lucina paused, then walked over, hesitant but graceful. She was smiling until she got a good look at everyone who was gathered on the blanket. Then her expression went blank.

"You headed to the art building?" Rocky asked.

Lucina nodded, looking exposed and uncomfortable.

"We're looking at the stars," Emily said. "Would you like to join us? I'd be just wonderful to spend time with you."

Lucina hesitated. I quickly feigned a yawn. "Oh," I said. "I think I'm too sleepy to stay out much later. I'm going to head back to the dorm." I stood and gave everyone a hopefully believable smile. "Good night!" I scurried away.

 **DORM: SAYA'S ROOM**

I quickly went back to my room, hoping she was able to join them. I wasn't tired yet, but I had found a collection of short stories in the student stores written by someone named "Yuri Lilyheart." It took me about five seconds to realize this was actually Katy: it had every trope she'd mentioned in conversation. But still, somehow... it was really good. When the one cowgirl hung herself with her own lariat, I felt tears running down my cheeks.

When I finally fell asleep, my dream was the same. Monokuma stirred a cauldron, wearing a pointy, black hat. Therion stood in the background, hands clasped behind his back. "Mystery writers have decades of tricks that have been deemed unfair," he said. "Render the mystery so obtuse and outlandish, no reader could possibly have guessed them."

He glanced down at Monokuma, rolled his eyes, and continued: "For instance, if murderer has not been introduced until just before detective solves the crime. Or if crime depended on supernatural: killer can bilocate or victim made of elastic."

He shrugged. "But real life? No rules. Maybe killer is complete stranger. Maybe killer can bilocate. Maybe no logic to anything at all. See why games are better?"

Once again, when I woke up, I felt like I hadn't slept at all.

 **FRAT HOUSE: THE TOMB**

Around noon, after an uneventful breakfast and slow morning, I decided to head over to the frat house to see if JP needed any help. I went into the side apartment (Earl had told me he was sleeping there now), but he didn't answer when I knocked. I stuck my head in, calling for him quietly, but he didn't respond.

I found him in that creepy hazing room. He stood with his back to me, standing over the stone altar. He did not move for a moment.

"Um, JP?"

"Aaugh!" He screeched, spun around, and threw his hand up into a salute. "Sir! Chi chi chi was first nationally sanctioned by President John Tyler in Princeton, New Jersey!" He blinked, then seemed to notice where he was, putting a hand on his chest. "Oh! Yo. Sorry. This kind of room brings back some memories from when I was first rushing! We had to remember every one of those facts perfectly, or they made us eat..."

"JP," I said, "please for the love of god do not tell me what they made you eat."

"No, it's not that bad," he argued, "it was just, you take some eggs, and some vomit, and you..."

"No! JP, no! No!"

He frowned but fell silent. Just for a moment. Then he mumbled, "It's called a vomlette."

"Oh my god, JP, stop!" I rubbed my forehead in irritation and sighed. "Nicer topic, okay? I came to see if you need any help with the party set-up."

"Hmm." He put his hands on his hips, thinking. "Oh! I think the only thing is, head over to see if Rocky needs any help moving his stuff over? We're already wired up for music, but he wanted to bring speakers and shit."

I nodded. "Sure."

"But!" JP grinned at me. "First, you gotta come with me!"

"I do?"

Instead of answering, he just walked out into the hallway and gestured that I follow him.

 **FRAT HOUSE: BEDROOM**

We stepped into a small, messy bedroom. "Eh, sorry about that," JP muttered, lightly tapping a discarded shirt with his foot. "I pretty much moved in here, and I already got laundry everywhere." He walked to a chest of drawers , grabbed one of the handles, and twisted it. A door squeakily opened up in a seemingly blank wall.

"Tada!" he announced. "Check it out, dude: a fucking secret passage! Isn't that awesome?"

"Uh, wow." I glanced into the passage, seeing only darkness. "Doesn't this creep you out?"

"Hell no, it's cool as shit." He strutted right in. I hesitantly followed him.

 **FRAT HOUSE: KITCHEN**

The passage ended up being just a few feet long; it opened up into another door. We stepped out into the kitchen. "It's just a shortcut," JP explained.

I frowned as I watched the door close back up behind us, leaving behind some mundane-looking shelves. "I wonder if it has to do with this building, or if there's stuff like this all over the campus," I mused. "Monokuma keeps popping up from nowhere; maybe he's using stuff like this?"

"No, I'm not!" Monokuma's voice blurted from hidden speakers. "And I'm making a new rule: Students may not speculate about the mysterious abilities of their school mascot!"

JP rolled his eyes. "Oh, whatever. C'mon." He grabbed my arm and pulled me into the beer freezer.

 **FRAT HOUSE: WALK-IN FREEZER**

I noticed that a bunch of small kegs had been pulled out to the middle of the room, standing in a row. Each had some kind of device sticking out the top, with a handle and hose. "Is this everyone's kegs for the party?" I asked.

"Yeah! Everyone helped me move them and set them up in taps. Having a walk-in freezer is fucking awesome; we don't have to lug around a bunch of ice."

"How many glasses of beer is in each of those?" I asked, eyeing the kegs.

"Like a hundred? Better to have too much than too little!" He grinned. "You run out, you just come in here and pump yourself another glass." He pointed at the nearest keg, which had a pink sticky note on it that said JP. Looking closer, each keg had its own sticky note and name. "It was Earl and Ashley's suggestion! They said it was like important to know how much each person drank, which... like sure, gotta keep up."

He suddenly clapped his hands. "Speaking of which!" He led me over to a corner of the freezer, where two kegs lay on their side, isolated from the others. "I narrowed it down to two, for you! You said you don't drink beer much, so it's my responsibility to introduce you to it! C'mon, pick the one you like better!"

I sighed, unsure whether to be flattered or slightly creeped out. I leaned over the kegs; like all the others, they were just blank aluminum with one small sticker on the underside to indicate the brewery and kind of beer. One said Guinness Harp Lager. The other said Delirium Tremens.

I looked up at JP, raising an eyebrow. "How am I supposed to know?"

"Pick one at random!" He was so cheerful about this. "College is about new experiences, right? Well, come on, trust me. I'm a doof, but I'm all about helping people get stuff they want, y'know?"

I could not help from smiling at his sincerity. I stood up. "The Guinness, I guess."

"Hell, yeah!" He nodded smartly. "Tonight, you're DD, but some other night, we'll hang out and have some Guinness, okay? I promise, it rules."

"Okay, JP." I meant it. He actually made it sound like fun, even in the midst of this horrible place. "I'm going to go see if Rocky needs any help."

"Rock!"

I headed out, leaving him pushing the Delirium Tremens keg back among the rest of the beers.

 **ARTS CENTER: MUSIC STUDIO**

I found Rocky sitting in a small studio, soundproofing on the walls and esoteric equipment everywhere. He sat at an enormous control board that could legitimately have been the most complicated thing I had ever seen. A bassline played from speakers, filling the room, and he nodded his head to the rhythm endearingly.

"Hey!" he said when he saw me. He pressed a key on a keyboard that was near him, and the bassline suddenly changed to a new set of chords. "You like this better?"

"Hm. Kind of? I'm not really an expert."

"Psh, you can't be an expert on house. You just feel it."

"Um, okay." I shrugged. "I feel this one more."

"Sweet!" He reached out and flicked a switch; a simple drum beat began playing. "This shit is amazing. I've never worked with anything like this."

I raised an eyebrow at the array of controls, screens, and flashing lights on the board. "It looks... really complex, to me."

"No, dude, it's simple!" He pointed to a screen with a woggling, green shape on it. "That's the visualizer." He indicated an LED screen with steadily increasing numbers on it. "That's the bar counter; it counts every four beats, see? Lets you know how long you've been running." He waved his hand over a mass of slider controls. "This controls sync for all the different tracks. Up to thirty-six different tracks. Thirty-six!" He pointed to another screen that indeed showed the number 36.

I chuckled. "Rocky, I don't know what any of this means, but it's good to see you so excited. I'm looking forward to finally hearing your work."

"Ah, well, you know. It's not my best; it's just some beats I made up in the past couple of days. You just wait another week and see what I got for you then!"

I grinned. "Hey, JP said you might need help carrying some speakers over or something."

"Oh, yeah!" He stood up and led me over to the other side of the studio, where there was a small push-trolley with a couple of fuzzy, black cubes. "I think I can get the speakers and most of my gear with this. If you just carry my loop station over, that'd be all I need." He pointed over at a piece of black electronic equipment over in the corner.

I walked over and began to lift it, but I paused when I looked closer. "Uh, this is all smashed up."

"What?" He glanced over, then snorted. "Oh, right, fuck. I threw it at the wall."

"Why did you throw it at the wall?"

"I told you, I get mad sometimes!" He huffily walked over to the large controls and began yanking wires off a similar-looking device. After removing what seemed like dozens of wires, he handed the thing over to me. "Here, take this one. Just leave it in the main room, okay?" I nodded. "Thanks, dude. This is gonna be lit!"

 **FRAT HOUSE: LIVING AREA**

After dinner and a workout, I met Ashley and Rodrigo in JP's living area. I could hear music coming through the walls; the party hadn't officially started yet, but Rocky was already playing his music. It sounded really good.

Rodrigo was dressed the same as he always was, but Ashley had her hair in a long, precise braid, and she was not wearing her beret. I wondered if I should have dressed up, but then I realized that I didn't have any particularly dressy clothes to start with. I idly resented how skillfully Nicole had me pegged when she said I was scared to look good.

"Don't get in the way," Ashley was saying. "Just be normal! Pay attention to how much people are drinking. Try to see if anyone's close to unconsciousness; if so, they will need to be escorted back to their dorm room."

"My concern about this event has grown by the hour," Rodrigo said.

"We shouldn't be worried if a murder will happen right there in front of everyone," Ashley said. "We've made it so it won't be dimly lit (despite the fratboy's irritating complaints), and there is safety in numbers. The danger will be if someone leaves. Make sure everyone's there who should be, and certainly do not let more than one person leave together!" She wagged a finger at us both. "Be in constant contact. There should be at least two of us in the main room of the party at all times."

I pressed a hand against my stomach, which was suddenly fluttery. "This is feeling like a lot of responsibility."

"Well, grow up and take responsibility!" Ashley snapped. "Now: Let's party!"

Rodrigo and I glanced at one another. "Let us party," he said halfheartedly.

* * *

 _FACT 13: Each party attendee has their own pony keg of beer. Each keg is labeled only with a sticker on the bottom._

 _FACT 14: Jane has to drink non-alcoholic beer, because her molecular structure causes 'unpredictable' things to happen if she has alcohol._

 _FACT 15: The computer lab in the visual arts center has scanners, printers, and complicated desktop publishing software._

 _FACT 16: Juliet is going to help Emily prepare for the party. Jane does not seem happy about this._

 _FACT 17: There's a secret passage connecting the living area to the party area in the frat house._

 _FACT 18: The pony kegs for the party have been lined up for easy access in the freezer. Each is labeled with a sticky-note, and each has been outfitted with a pump._

 _FACT 19: The studio in the music part of the arts center has a huge, complicated control board. Rocky moved a lot of his other equipment and speakers to the party, but he left behind a loop station, which he'd destroyed in anger._

* * *

 **Author's note: I'm sure everything will be fine! But just in the crazy, outlandish case that there IS a murder soon, who do you think would be the victim? Who do you think would be the killer?**


	16. History of Hellenistic Art II: Part D

**FRAT HOUSE: MAIN ROOM**

The party had not been going for a full half hour, and I was already exhausted. The space had been made to hold a much larger group of people, but that was not considering music from the ultimate house producer, or anyone as energetic as Earl, Nicole, or Barrett.

Barrett flung himself violently around the dance floor, crashing into the other dancers so hard, I wondered if he was actually trying to hurt them. Giuseppe and Earl stood their ground against him, and even though Nicole was actually knocked off her feet a couple of times, she didn't seem to mind.

I glanced at Rocky, holding earphones to his ear and adjusting something on his machines. The music was almost shockingly good. It was almost impossible to listen and not want to dance.

Ashley sat next to me on the dirty couch, frowning. She did not seem to have any desire at all to dance.

"Bepi's a surprisingly good dancer," I said to her. "I didn't think he was the type to let go like this."

Ashley grunted. "He told me once his officers started forcing him to drink when he was ten. Said it numbed the pain." She rolled her eyes. "Nihilism is an asinine philosophy, but it's fascinating how someone might start to believe it."

JP strolled up to us, raising a fresh glass of his pale ale in greeting. "My friends! Everything good? Everything safe?"

I glanced around the room. Aside from the dancers, I could only see Rodrigo off to the side talking to Jane with a bewildered expression on his face. "I think so," I replied. "I haven't seen anyone leave together, and no one seems to be getting out of hand with the drinking."

"You haven't seen anything yet!" JP yelled. "Yeah!" He took a chug of his beer and grinned. "Not even everyone is here yet!"

Ashley scowled. "Who hasn't come?"

"Juliet was going to help Emily get ready... you know, do her makeup and everything," I said. "She's probably planning a big grand entrance."

JP cast his gaze around. "Still think we're missing someone," he said.

"We are!" Katy, appearing as if from nowhere, plopped down onto the couch, her legs hanging over the side and her head in my lap. Somehow, she didn't spill the full glass of porter she was carrying. "Lucina isn't here!"

"Oh yeah," JP said. "When I tried to get her favorite beer, she told me she didn't want to come tonight. Too loud, or something."

"What?" Ashley shot to her feet and glared at him. "Why didn't you tell me?!"

"Dude, chill! It's just Lucina; she's off being quiet somewhere."

"Security for this party..."

"Lucina's pretty," Katy declared, as Ashley continued to rant at JP. Her glass of beer was somehow only a third full already, and she looked up at me sincerely. "Saya, are we friends?"

My discomfort was pretty strong, but it didn't overwhelm the feelings of affection and endearment she was prompting. "Um, yeah. I think we are."

There were literal tears in her eyes. "I feel like we're friends, too. In high school, everyone put up with me, but... I was always just kind of... different from everyone. Just the weird, gay girl. College was gonna be different."

I found myself smiling a little. "I get it. When we get out of here, things will be different."

She dropped her empty glass onto the carpet and threw her arms around my waist, squeezing tight. I had no idea what to do, so I just patted her head a couple of times uncomfortably.

"What is happening here?!" a voice bellowed, and Earl was among us. He somehow dumped an entire glassful of his dunkel down his throat in just a second or two, and then he threw a fist in the air. "Some of us are not enjoying this fine party! Come, you sticks in the proverbial mud! Join us on the dance floor!"

"No," Katy spoke up, still holding tight to my waist. "The dance floor's a total sausage party."

Earl roared with laughter. "You'll never keep a German away from a party of sausages!" He reached a hand out to Ashley, who stared at him for a moment, then reached up and took it. He yanked her back to the dance floor with him. She gave a little shriek, but her face was hugely red.

JP shook his head. "Man, I dunno what it is, but this party just isn't as lit as it should be. I'm just not feeling it like I should! You know?"

"Uh..." I fidgeted slightly, becoming very aware of Katy still holding on to me. "Kind of? The music's good."

"I know!" JP rubbed his chin in thought. "I got it!" He marched over to wall behind Rocky and turned a dial; the lights in the room dimmed.

"Whoa, hey, that's dangerous!" I tried to say, but Katy was still holding on to me and JP just gave me a grinning thumbs up. I tried to catch Ashley's eye, but she was dancing (hilariously badly) and actually had not even seemed to notice the room getting darker.

I did have to admit, the place did seem more partylike now, but with the strobe set-up Rocky had going, I had a hard time even seeing around the room.

I sat on the couch, bewildered, hoping Katy had not fallen asleep.

* * *

About an hour later, the party had become much more chaotic. Once I extracted myself from Katy, I teamed up with Rodrigo, and the two of us did our best to make sure no one wandered off, especially in groups. Still, it was difficult; the room was so dark, and people were moving around so unpredictably, it was hard to keep track. Rodrigo had tried to turn the lights back on, but everyone had yelled at him and he lowered them again. He was pretty embarrassed about the whole thing.

I sat on the couch uncomfortably. Katy sat on the floor, resting her head in my lap, sniffling. Nicole and Barrett made out next to me. Suddenly, Nicole yelled "Oh!" directly into Barrett's mouth. She pulled back and looked over at me. "Saya! Has anyone been murdered?!"

I gaped at her. "Oh god, Nicole! No, why would you ask that?!"

Nicole cheered. "No murders; everyone drink!" She chugged her beer and Barrett grabbed his glass and drank some too. "That's the drinking game! We drink whenever anyone doesn't get murdered."

"How does that work? I... really hope no one's getting murdered MOST of the time."

"No murders!" They drank some more.

Barrett finished his beer, kissed Nicole, and kicked the nearby wall. "Fuck yes!" he growled. "This may be the last fucking night I can dance, so I'm getting pissed and dancing!"

"That is such a romantic thing to say," Katy mumbled. "Straight person love is so adorable sometimes, you know?"

"No murders!" Nicole finished her lager. She set her glass down and pulled Barrett back onto the dance floor, jostling into Earl who simply saluted them in response and kept dancing.

"I wrote a book once where it was a straight person love, but they were lesbians," Katy muttered, lolling her head around. She softly began to cry. Again. I put my hand on her head, as comfortingly as I could.

Bepi walked over and collapsed down on the couch next to me, holding a bottle of water. He nodded to me in greeting. He was clearly holding it together pretty well, but he did not seem to be having as easy a time unscrewing the lid as he probably normally would. "How's things in chaperone world?"

"A disaster." I sighed. "I can barely keep track of anyone, especially with..." I trailed off and gestured down at Katy, who held on tight to my leg and was saying something about her childhood parakeet.

Bepi nodded somberly. "Some people get weepy when they drink."

"Rodrigo seems to just be completely confused, and we lost Ashley like an hour ago." I indicated the dance floor, where she was hopefully not attempting to grind on Earl.

Bepi breathed out, flapping his lips in exasperation. "Repression's a bitch. Guess you know that as well as anyone, huh?"

"Don't repress!" Katy blurted. "Be true to your heaaaaart," and she started crying again.

I barely even reacted to her, just raising an eyebrow at Giuseppe. "You should know something about it too, right? Isn't the military all about discipline?"

He laughed humorlessly. "Uh, no, being a child soldier isn't about discipline and rank and hierarchy and all that. We just get turned loose. We're the Tazmanian Devils that just come in and wreck shit." He shrugged. "You don't train kids hoping to get a bunch of little rule-followers. You do it to create monsters."

"So... you're a monster?"

He took a drink of water and considered my question for a moment. "No," he said eventually. "I'm defective. Some kids just lived on that chaos. I couldn't. I guess that's why I'm still alive." He took a deep breath. "I am wasted. Wow."

"Hey dudes!" a voice greeted. Rocky walked up to us, drinking from his own bottle of water. "How's it going over here in Lame Not Dancing Town?"

I glanced back at his rig, then back to him. "Can you just leave your equipment?"

"Oh yeah, this song just goes for five more minutes; we're cool. I've stepped out a couple of times to get some water or take a piss or whatever; didn't you notice?"

"No." I scowled at the floor. "This is just a nightmare; I can't make sure anyone's safe like this."

"If it means anything, I'm pretty sure there's always been a big group of people dancing," Bepi said. "People keep going to get new drinks and stuff, but there's never been a time where almost everyone isn't in here."

"Yeah, so chill!" Rocky insisted. "I meant it, why aren't you guys dancing?"

"I'm just taking a break," Bepi answered. "Katy's having an emotional breakthrough." He gave me a sideways look. "Saya's too hip."

Rocky laughed, which I'm not sure I appreciated. "Oh," he said, "I remember, I actually came over to ask you... did Juliet and Emily ever show up?"

I frowned. "No. I noticed, too. It's not too late yet, I guess, but... its starting to get weird."

Bepi shrugged. "Eh, making Emily hot seems like a big job. I mean, not 'cause she's not cute, of course, but she'd just look weird if she wasn't all nerdy. They'll probably swoop in here like a couple of princesses."

Katy gasped. "What if they're making out!"

"I don't think they're making out," I said dryly.

She gasped again. "What if they're with Lucina and all three of them are making out?!"

I decided it was best to ignore her. "I promise, I'm not over here because I don't like the music," I said. "I'm just trying to keep an eye on things."

I suddenly felt a hand on my shoulder. Startled, I whipped around to see Jane leering at me with a giant, strange smile. "Saya," she said. "The gnomes."

I involuntarily pulled back an inch or so. "Um, I'm sorry, what?"

"The. Gnomes." She sank to her knees, her facial expression not changing one little bit. "I heard them." She pointed to a small box full of hackey sacks. "That's where they live. Gnomeshire. I know because of the colors."

I blinked at her. "Um... Jane. What are you talking about?"

Bepi stood up and patted me on the back. "Well, Saya, have fun dealing with whatever this is." He and Rocky walked back to the dance floor.

Jane just kept staring at me. "Guess what!" Her smile somehow grew twice as big. "I saw a ghost."

"...what?"

"I'll show you!" With ridiculous strength, she grabbed me by the arm and pulled me off the couch. Katy fell onto the floor, grunting and mumbling.

Jane nearly dragged me up the stairs and onto the second story balcony, overlooking the whole main room; I could see everyone dancing below. Jane took me to a window and pointed out, down towards the north quad. She pressed her face against the glass. "It had a white face and a scary shadow body and it was a GHOST," she stated. "It was... it was right down there, in the dark part." She looked back at me. "It was carrying something. Probably SECRETS."

I took a step back. "Jane, you... I think you're kind of not okay right now, but did you really see something outside? When?"

"Gnometime," she replied.

I sighed. I took her hand and led her back down the stairs to the couch, and I sat her down next to Katy, who grabbed onto one of her legs, sniffling. I went to find Rodrigo.

He was standing next to the main door to the outside, looking pale and uncomfortable. "This is pandemonium," he said simply.

"Yeah, it is. Have you been able to keep track of anything?"

He nodded. "The party itself is beyond my ken, but I have been making sure no one leaves in a group, or for too long. Friend Rocky left earlier, for just a minute or so, and he returned smelling of tobacco. Other than that, no one has gone outside."

I smiled gratefully. "That's awesome, at least we're on top of that." I shuddered slightly. "Listen, Jane is... I don't know, something's up with her. I think we should take her back to her room, but first, um... she said she saw something outside. She also said she saw gnomes in that box over there, so..."

"It is no problem!" Rodrigo said. "If you take over my post here at the door, I will take a look."

"Thanks. It really is probably nothing, but... I mean, it's probably good to make sure there isn't something dangerous happening for the people who aren't here yet."

"Ahhh," he breathed in realization. "You're worried about Friend Lucina."

"Ack, no!" I'm sure my face was red. "No, I just... I mean, better safe than sorry, right?"

"I understand. I will simply take a short look around the building and then return to take Friend Jane back to her room." He saluted and stepped out the door.

I uncomfortably watched the party, JP and Barrett flinging themselves into one another on the dance floor, and I was relieved when Rodrigo came back only thirty seconds after leaving.

He was paler than before. "Saya," he said. "Come outside with me."

"What? But..."

"Saya." He was very serious, and there was something else, too. It took me a moment to realize: he was terrified. I nodded, and we went outside.

 **NORTH QUAD**

He led me around the building, and I saw what had scared him. It took me a moment to recognize what it was, though.

"...blood?"

I hesitantly walked over to the streak on the path. I dipped my fingers into the dark smudge and smelled them. Coppery. Unmistakable.

I looked back at Rodrigo, and we shared a wordless moment. I stood up and we looked around for other signs of violence.

It was not hard to find. The side door of the frat house, the one that led to JP's living area, had the same kind of dark stain on it, as if a bloody arm had been slapped against the wood. I looked down. There was a bloodstreak that started outside and led straight under the door.

We stood there. I reached over and grabbed his arm, squeezing it. His face was stark and terrified, but there was a determination there, too. He positioned himself between me and the door and slowly pulled it open.

There was only darkness inside, but the bloodstreak clearly continued on. We slowly, slowly walked in.

 **FRAT HOUSE: LIVING AREA**

It took a moment for my eyes to adjust to the light, but even before that happened, I knew the place was ransacked. There were papers and clothes and furniture just all over. And right there, on the side of the room, there was a shape, lumped and silent.

I stepped closer, trying to make it out. I wish I hadn't.

Because before I was ready, it settled into my vision, stark and clear. The horrible, horrible sight I don't think I'll ever forget.

Propped up against the wall, slumped and still and absolutely covered in blood, was Juliet Mountebank, the ultimate girlfriend.


	17. History of Hellenistic Art II: Part D2

**FRAT HOUSE: LIVING AREA**

Juliet screamed.

I wasn't ready for it, and I scrambled backward; I heard Rodrigo literally fall over onto the floor.

Juliet grabbed her bloody hair and thrashed and wailed. Rodrigo recovered and ran over to her, holding her arms to keep her from hurting herself.

I thought Juliet wasn't saying words, but I realized she was. It was just "Why? Why? Why?" over and over again.

"Friend Juliet!" Rodrigo stammered. "Please! You must tell us what happened!"

Juliet's scream faded into just a rasp, and she started banging the back of her head against the wall. "I can't!" she shrieked. "I can't I can't I can't!"

Nearly panicked, Rodrigo pulled her away from the wall and grabbed her in a tight embrace. She flailed against him weakly, then suddenly went limp.

He pulled back, his hands on her shoulders, and we tried to look her in the face. She stared back at us with dead eyes, lolling her head. There was just blood everywhere, crusting on her cheeks and in her hair and on her dress.

"I'm sorry," she said, nearly inaudibly. "I'm sorry I'm sorry." She moaned and nearly fell, but Rodrigo held her up. "Told me... told me I could choose." She looked up. "I said... I said not me." Her voice collapsed into a sob, tears leaving streaks in the blood on her face. "I said not me! I'm sorry!" She writhed, sobbing, in Rodrigo's arms, and then she seemed to just go catatonic again.

I stepped back, and I nearly slipped. I looked down and saw, lying among the wreckage of the room, a black poncho. I reached down and picked it up, and what I saw caused me to nearly drop it in shock. Not only was it covered in blood, but there was a rubber mask duct-taped to the neck part: a horrible, green gremlin face.

Juliet's staring eyes saw the mask, and she screamed again, louder than she had before. "No no no!" She pushed against Rodrigo in a vain attempt to run away, but he held onto her tightly.

I dropped the costume where hopefully she wouldn't be able to see it, and I walked up to them, putting my hand softly on her shoulder. "Juliet... Juliet, please, what happened?"

She buried her face in Rodrigo's robe, shivering violently. "In the music," she squeaked. "In the music in the music in the music..."

I stepped back. "Rodrigo, I think you need to stay here with her. Keep her from hurting herself, all right?"

Rodrigo nodded. I gave him what I hoped was a determined expression before running back out the door and around the building to the party.

 **FRAT HOUSE: MAIN ROOM**

As soon as I stepped in, I decided I was done trying to convince people of things nicely. I walked right up to the dance floor, where Ashley was jumping up and down, and I grabbed her and physically dragged her away. None of the other dancers seemed very bothered.

"Hey!" Ashley yipped, kicking at me. "What are you..." She saw the expression on my face and fell silent.

"Oh, Christ," she said.

 **ARTS CENTER: ENTRANCE HALL**

There was only one thing I could think "in the music" might mean, but I hoped I was wrong. I hoped I was wrong because I hoped nothing was happening at all; this was just a normal night; this is just a normal college; this is just a normal life.

We stood in front of the door to the music section, not going inside. I looked over at Ashley; she was expressionless.

"Saya," she said, looking straight ahead at the door. "Can you do this?"

I chuckled nervously. "Walk through a door? I think I probably..."

"Saya." She looked at me, pure steel in her eyes. "Can you do this? Or am I doing it alone?"

I fell silent, coldness settling into my chest. "I can do it," I said.

She pulled open the door and we went inside.

 **ARTS CENTER: MUSIC STUDIO**

The door to Rocky's studio was open, the light was on, and a droning, simple, 4/4 beat played from inside. We walked towards it, and just without hesitation went inside.

I said I could do it, but I was wrong. I couldn't.

There were bloodstains all over; on the walls, the floor, the control panel, even the ceiling.

And sitting in a chair in the middle of the room, head thrown back, a gruesome dagger sticking out of her chest... the sweetest person I had ever met.

Emily Voss, the Ultimate Astronomer, was dead.

* * *

 **welp**


	18. History of Hellenistic Art II: Part E

_Q: Tell me about your parents, please._  
 _EV: I'm very close with my mother. She's been so wonderful and supportive my whole life._  
 _Q: Including your scientific pursuits?_  
 _EV: Oh, particularly that! She'd listen to me ramble for hours. She never had a mind for maths, but she always did her best to understand what I was talking about._  
 _Q: Was your father the same way?_  
 _EV: Ah. He... did have a mind for maths? I think I'm very much like him. That's why... well. I've always accepted my mum's influence. One can't simply pick and choose one's parents. But... one can choose to accept only the good lessons. That's what I've always tried to do._

* * *

It was strange. The sight was so terrible, the thought of brilliant, wonderful Emily denied a future so ghastly, the expression of agony on her face so overwhelming... something in my mind just snapped. I went cold. I just breathed.

Ashley had a hand over her mouth, nearly swooning from her obvious nausea. I idly wondered if I should steady her, but before I could move, I heard a sound behind me.

I turned. Standing in the door was Lucina, mouth and eyes open in horror. She dropped to her hands and knees like a puppet whose strings had been cut, silently howling.

I went to her. I put my hand on her shoulder, and without a moment's pause, she reached up and grabbed me tightly, weeping with her head buried in my chest.

I looked up at Ashley. "We need to investigate," I said. "The drunk people will only get in the way. What can we do?"

She gaped at me for a moment, then appeared to come to her senses. "Yes. Rodrigo can wrangle them. He's probably too sensitive to be any good here."

I nodded. "Can you tell everyone?"

"I can. Can you investigate here?"

I nodded. She tilted her head slightly towards Lucina, frowning. I knew what she was saying. 'She was the only other person who wasn't at the party.' I nodded back, ignoring the feeling in my stomach.

"Very well." Ashley breathed in deeply. "I will go inform everyone of what's happened. Afterwards, I'll attempt to interrogate Juliet."

"Send Bepi over," I said, then paused. "Well, not if he's really drunk. If he is, just... just send whoever's lucid." She nodded and ran out the door.

I held Lucina in my arms for maybe a minute as she shuddered and hitched. I wanted some time before I would have to look at the body.

Finally, I took a deep breath and leaned back, looking Lucina in the face. "I have to investigate," I said. "And at the trial, I might do what I did before. Is it..."

She pushed me away, shocking me, and she grabbed a pad of paper and pencil from her pocket. She scribbled for a moment and held out, _Justice for her, whatever it takes._

I nodded, relieved. "Will you stay with me? You don't have to look at anything, but it makes me feel safer."

She nodded back. And then my procrastination had reached an end; I ran out of excuses. I stood up and walked towards Emily's body.

But before I could get there, a loud buzz startled me, and I nearly fell to the ground. My tablet was vibrating in my pocket. Suddenly, a shrill voice yelped from the door, "Excellent, excellent!"

I turned and glared at Monokuma, who was rubbing his paws together in glee. "I'm here to say I sent you a Monomail about this fantastic murder!" he announced. "It's so wonderful to see the results of a student's hard work. Do you see what can be accomplished when you just follow the rules like you're supposed to?"

The thought of even acknowledging he had spoken made me feel sick. I just pulled out my tablet and turned it on, reading the new email:

 _Body Discovery Report!_  
 _The victim is Emily Voss. The body was discovered at 12:17 a.m. in the music engineering studio in the performing arts center. The victim suffered a stab wound to the heart, resulting in instantaneous death. The victim also suffered numerous non-lethal wounds. No poison or drugs were found in her system._

Monokuma just giggled. "Ignore me all you want, little detectives, but you'd better follow the rules yourself if you want to survive the night! Spoiled children can't be given a choice in these things; they'll give themselves over to chaos." And with a goofy sproing sound, he disappeared.

I looked at Lucina, still sitting on the floor. She didn't seem to notice or care Monokuma was ever here. With a calming breath, I turned and finally went to examine Emily's body.

She was in a wooden chair that I recognized from a nearby orchestra room. Her ankles were duct-taped to the front legs of the chair, and her wrists were duct-taped to the seat of the chair, next to her thighs. She looked angelic; her hair drifted past her shoulders instead of in its usual ponytail, and I realized she was wearing soft, subtle make-up.

* * *

 _ **FACT 1: EMILY'S APPEARANCE**  
Emily recently had her hair and make-up done._

* * *

But that wasn't what really drew my eyes. Beyond even the dagger sticking out of her chest, what I really noticed were the cuts and wounds all over her arms, legs, and face. Shallow, precise slits criss-crossed all over her skin, dripping blood. There were larger gashes with dark stains leading out of them. But oddest of all, several places on her body were actually bandaged up, large clots of dried blood sticking the bandage to her skin.

* * *

 _FACT 2: EMILY'S WOUNDS. Emily's body is covered with wounds of various sizes which all look to have been made with a blade of some kind. Some of the larger wounds were carefully bandaged._

* * *

A yelp startled me. I turned back to see Rocky backing into the corner of the studio, a horrified expression on his face. "Oh, christ," he whispered. Lucina stood and put her hand on his shoulder.

I swallowed down my jealousy and looked Rocky right in the face. "Did Ashley send you?"

He stared at me blankly before finally nodding. "I'm the only one who was sober. It's a fucking mess over there, but... christ, I didn't think..."

"I need your help," I said plainly. "You're the only one who can help us investigate."

He blinked, licking his lips anxiously. "Um. Right. Okay. The... the body?"

"Take a minute if you need to." Without waiting, I turned around to examine the body again, this time forcing myself to look at the dagger. It was definitely the one from the creepy room in the frat house, and it was embedded almost up to the hilt in Emily's chest; she had been stabbed with a large amount of force.

Her blouse was pinned to her chest by the dagger. Looking closer at her blouse, I noticed something very strange: there were two short lengths of duct tape attached to the front of it, forming an X. The knife stuck out at the exact point where the lines met.

* * *

 _ **FACT 3: STAB WOUND**  
Emily was killed by the dagger from the Tomb in the frat house. There was an X pattern in duct tape on the front of her blouse, and she was stabbed right in the center of it._

* * *

"Jesus," Rocky's shaky voice said over my shoulder. "This is..." He trailed off. "How could someone do this to Emily of all people?"

"They're evil," I answered shortly. I pointed at Emily's torso. "The middle of that X must be right where her heart is. See?"

I looked closer; her blouse was billowy, but it was tight against the front of her chest. I looked around at the blouse in back, around her nape. It was bunched up and crinkled.

I indicated it to Rocky. "What do you make of this?"

He nauseatedly leaned over and examined the back of her blouse. "Um. Maybe someone was grabbing onto it and pulling back?"

"That's what I thought, too." I stood on her side and simulated holding the back of her blouse tight in one hand, and stabbing forward toward her chest with the other hand. "The blouse hangs loose. So if the X targets her heart, the killer would have to pull it tight to line it up right."

* * *

 _ **FACT 3: STAB WOUND (revised).**  
Emily was killed by the dagger from the Tomb in the frat house. There was an X pattern in duct tape on the front of her blouse, and she was stabbed right in the center of it. The blouse was bunched up in the back, indicating someone was grabbing it and pulling it tight when she was stabbed._

* * *

I heard a light tapping sound, so I looked over to the corner of the room, where Lucina was huddled over a trashcan, waving to us. Having got our attention, she walked over with a packet of paper in her hand, which she showed to us.

It looked like an old printout, like something that had been photocopied a bunch of times and then printed in the 1980s and then left to sit somewhere ever since. It has spatters of blood on it. At the top of the first page, in large but faded letters, it said:

 _CHI CHI CHI RITUAL FOR WELL-BEING AND SECURITY 33FB_

 _CLASSIFIED: FOR CHAPTER LEADERS AND ***** ALUMNI ONLY_

 _Ritual 33FB is the second-oldest ceremony in Chi Chi Chi history: Its first recorded performance was only two years after the chapter had been certified, in 1865. Its effectiveness is undeniable. However, for obvious reasons, it must be conducted in total secrecy, and its existence must be kept from public knowledge._

 _The ritual requires:_

 _2 Ceremonial daggers (1 bladed; 1 imitation)  
_ _1 Scapegoat (virgin preferred)  
_ _1 Witness  
_ _1 Human Simulacrum  
_

 _The purpose of Ritual 33FB is to protect Chi Chi Chi members from calamitous harm._

Rocky shuddered next to me. "What's a..." he tried to sound it out, "Sim-u-la-crum?"

"It's... like a fake person, I think," I replied. I flipped over to the next page and we skimmed it.

 _The ritual involves transferring the Felicity (Good Luck; see Ritual Q77) from the Scapegoat into the Simulacrum._

 _First, it is necessary to create a slit in the chest of the Simulacrum by stabbing it with the bladed dagger. Then, place the imitation dagger into the wound. The Scapegoat must later be killed with the bladed dagger by piercing the heart. Therefore, at the end of the ritual, the Simulacrum and Scapegoat will have matching wounds: a real dagger in a real chest, and an imitation dagger in an imitation chest._

 _The heart of the Scapegoat must be purified before death. This is accomplished via torture (any form of torture may be used). The Bad Luck "leaks" from the Scapegoat via the experience of pain. The purpose of The Witness is to absorb this Bad Luck and therefore must be on hand during this full process! The Bad Luck manifests in the Witness as distress; choosing an emotionally sensitive Witness is thus recommended._

 _NOTE: Although this is not universally endorsed, many Chi Chi Chi leaders strongly suggest recording some aspect of the torture and killing of the Scapegoat, as the recording will absorb any leftover ambient Bad Luck._

 _Regarding specific techniques for use in Ritual 33FB, we recommend..._

The rest of the document appeared to be detailed descriptions for methods of torture, and I could not bring myself to read it.

The three of us looked at one another. "Fuck," Rocky said.

"Pretty much my reaction, too," I agreed.

* * *

 _ **FACT 4: OLD DOCUMENT**  
At the scene of the murder, there was an old printout describing the process of committing a ritual murder. This ritual is associated with JP's fraternity: Chi Chi Chi._

* * *

"So, is this just open and shut, or..." Rocky began, but I cut him off.

"I think the best thing to do is just see what we can find without jumping to any conclusions." He nodded, still looking overwhelmed and sick.

Lucina tugged my sleeve to get my attention and handed me another, newer-looking piece of paper. She pointed to the trash can in the corner.

I nodded to her and examined the paper. There was scribbled writing on it, jutting and ugly. It said, _Choose. Who should die? You? or Her?_

* * *

 _ **FACT 5: CRIME SCENE NOTE**  
There was a piece of paper in the trash can directing someone to choose which of two people will die._

* * *

I caught Lucina's eye; she looked afraid. I did my best to give her a reassuring smile and I turned back to Rocky. "You know this room better than we do. Is there anything small here that's different from when you left it?"

Rocky scratched his head and looked around. "Um, well, someone turned a beat on. There wasn't anything playing when I left, I'm sure."

"Really?"

"Yeah. See?" He walked to the large control board and pointed to one of the screens, an LED display of increasing numbers. It currently read 3001. "That counts each bar; every four beats. Its just been left on."

I rubbed my chin in thought. "Hm, how many beats would you say this is in a minute?"

He listened to the repetitive drum beat for a moment and replied, "About 130."

"Okay. And the number goes up every four beats, so let's just say 132, meaning 33 in a minute, so it's been... a little over an hour and a half, right?"

"Uh, I'll take your word for it."

I frowned. "That's after the party started, right?"

* * *

 _ **FACT 6: DRUM MACHINE**  
The drum machine in Rocky's studio has been on for about an hour and a half. He insists it was off when he left before the party._

* * *

Looking down at the control panel, I noticed something odd. One of the wires leading off of it onto the floor was strange, thicker than the others. I picked it up and saw that it was actually three or four individual wires all tightly wound together. It was thicker around than my thumb.

I held it up to Rocky. "Did you do this?"

"No, that'd totally fuck them up. Wait..." He looked a little further down the wire and saw two indentations. "Are those... teeth marks?"

I looked. Yes, it did look like teeth marks, like someone had bitten down hard on the wires with both sets of molars.

* * *

 _ **FACT 7: WIRES  
T**here were several wires bound together tightly to produce a fairly thick cord. There were teeth marks on the cord._

* * *

I sighed, gathering up the wires to take with me as evidence.. "Okay. Rocky, I think I really need to go see if there's any important evidence at the frat house. But I need you to do something here at the same time, okay? That horrible document mentions... recordings. Can you look around and see if you find anything like that?"

Rocky literally looked like he was about to throw up. "Guh. Yes. Okay."

"Thanks." I nodded to Lucina and we left Rocky... and Emily's body... behind.

 **NORTH QUAD**

When we stepped out into the night, I heard Lucina tearing a piece of paper. I looked over, and it said, _He could destroy evidence. Aren't you worried about leaving him alone at the crime scene?_

"Yes, I'm very worried about it," I replied. "But it's a risk I think we have to take. Most of us are wasted." I stopped walking and looked her square on. "Lucina." Rip it off, like a bandaid. "You know I have to ask, right? What you were doing tonight?"

She hesitated a moment, then determinedly wrote something down and showed me: _Conducting alone in the theater. I didn't hear or see anyone, and I don't think anyone saw me._

I took a deep breath. "Okay." I chuckled humorlessly. "My impulse here is to lie for you, but I think that's the kind of thing you didn't like last time."

She nodded. She held out a new message: _I didn't do it._ She quickly wrote another note and showed me: _But if I did, you take me down._

"I will." We just regarded each other a moment, then I pointed over to one of the light poles that lined the path. "One more thing?" We walked over to the light, and she stood still while I examined her clothes and skin. I didn't find any blood anywhere on her shirt, arms, head, or jeans.

* * *

 _ **FACT 8: LUCINA'S TESTIMONY**  
Lucina says she was in the theater all night and didn't hear or see anyone. There are no bloodstains on her body or clothes._

* * *

We reached the frat house, which was the site of complete chaos. Katy was sitting against the outside of the house, bawling. Jane was talking to nobody. Ashley stood outside the side entrance glaring at JP, who fretted next to her. She beckoned us over when she saw us.

"Saya!" JP yelped. "Make her let me go in! That's not just a crime scene, it's basically my house!"

"No one goes in but me!" Ashley snapped, then she looked at me. "Juliet's being an idiot. I'm giving her a break."

"Saya," JP nearly implored. "Is Emily really dead? Ashley wouldn't give us any details, but this has to be a mix-up, right?"

"She's dead," I replied, simply.

I realized Jane wasn't talking, she was... rapping. "Thrift Shop" by Macklemore. Realizing this was very distracting. "Has anyone figured out what's wrong with her?"

"Dude, she's tripping or something," JP said. "Been acting totally crazy. And, uh... you can't really see it in the dark, but... she's striped."

I gaped at him. "What?"

"I don't know how else to say it! She's striped."

I walked up to Jane hesitantly. "Passin up on these moccasins someone else has been walkin in..."

"Jane?"

She swiveled on me as fast as a snake, staring me in the face. She was, indeed, striped. There were thin, vertical, black lines running down her body; they went across her skin, hair, and eyes smoothly. It was truly strange to look at.

"Yes?!" she asked cheerfully.

"Uh, I just... wanted to ask you about the ghost you saw earlier," I said.

"Ghost!" She looked delighted. "It was outside. Had a white face, white, like the moon. It had something big in its arms, like a body. It was alone. Ghosts are scary."

* * *

 _ **FACT 9: JANE'S CONDITION  
** Jane has been acting bizarrely, and she now has stripes. She again mentioned seeing a ghost, but she also is likely hallucinating._

* * *

When I returned to the side door, Ashley was shaking her head angrily. "Useless. Everyone's just useless."

I tried my best to look submissive and harmless. "Have you searched the rooms yet?" I glanced at JP, wringing his hands anxiously. "He might be useful to have along. He'll know what's out of place."

"Yeah!" JP argued. "And I have a way high tolerance, I'm not super wasted! I can help!"

Ashley grunted. "Fine, whatever. But don't scare Juliet!" She turned and threw open the side door and marched in. We followed more cautiously.

 **FRAT HOUSE: LIVING AREA**

Ashley's sudden, aggressive entrance clearly scared Juliet, who squeezed tightly to Rodrigo, shivering uncontrollably. She had smeared the blood all over his robes; they both looked horrifying.

"Awww shiiiit," JP moaned as he looked around. "This is... aw fuck, what happened?"

Ashley marched up to Juliet, her hands on her hips. "It's very important that you stop being upset and speak!" she barked. Ashley cowered more, prompting a glare from Ashley. "I said stop being upset! Stop it! Stop it!"

I put my hand on her shoulder, trying to calm her down. "Maybe... maybe let's ease back a little?"

As the sound of my voice, Juliet hesitantly looked back, a single blue eye peering through streams of long, bloody hair. "...Saya?"

"Yeah, it's me."

"Did... did you find her?"

"...Yeah."

"It's my fault." Juliet's voice was raspy and wavering. "They asked me who, and..." She let out almost a caterwaul of pain. "And I said Emily! She was so much smarter and better than me and I knew it but I still said to kill her!"

Ashley took a step forward, thankfully not too forcefully. "Who was it?"

"I don't know, I don't know!" Juliet sniffled. "They... they wore that horrible, horrible mask and they never said anything! They just had that dagger and just... just cut her over and over forever and ever!"

"Did they capture you?" I asked.

"...Yes? I don't know!" Her body was shaking. "We... we were walking to the party from the dorm, and I saw Emily fall, and I didn't know why, but then something hit my knees from behind and I fell too! And then I couldn't breathe and... and I woke up in that room, and my arms and legs were taped together and I had something in my mouth..."

* * *

 _ **FACT 10: JULIET'S TESTIMONY  
** Juliet says she and Emily were waylaid on the way to the party. The assailant then incapacitated them with duct tape. The assailant wore the gremlin costume the whole time and never spoke._

* * *

"The thing in your mouth," I said, holding up the wires from the studio. "Was it this?"

Juliet gasped and buried her face back in Rodrigo's neck. "Yes! Yes yes, oh god. It was wrapped around behind me, I couldn't..." She sobbed again. "They only took it off to ask me who should die. Then they put it back in. Oh god..."

* * *

 _ **FACT 7: WIRES (revised)  
** There were several wires bound together tightly to produce a fairly thick cord, a little bigger around than my thumb. There were teeth marks on the cord. Juliet says they were used to gag her._

* * *

"Okay," I said. "Just one more question, okay? When did you and Emily leave the dorm?"

"Um," she sniffled, "Eleven. It was around eleven. I remember because... because I said all the boys would see her and know she's an eleven out of ten. She... she blushed, but she smiled too."

* * *

 _FACT 11: TIMING OF THE NIGHT. The party started around 10:30. Juliet says she and Emily left the dorm at around 11:00, and were attacked on their way through the quad. Juliet was found at around 12:10, and Emily was found at around 12:15._

* * *

"Oh goddamn it," JP's voice groaned behind me. "What the fuck even is this?" He had picked up the poncho and mask and was holding it up to examine it. Juliet saw it again, screeched, and cowered.

I was done with Juliet for the moment anyway, so I gave as sympathetic a look to Rodrigo as I could and walked over to JP.

I looked closer at the costume. It was a large, flowing, black poncho duct-taped to a green, floppy, full-head gremlin mask to create ghoulish kind of cloak. The inside of the mask was white, so the empty eye holes looked like horrible, iris-less eyeballs staring at me.

In distaste, he thrust the poncho out to Lucina, who, after a moment of confusion, took it. She held it at arms length by the shoulders, so it draped down. It was wide and billowy, reaching down to Lucina's knees; she was the tallest of my classmates, so it would easily cover most other people completely. "Goddamn it," JP said. "This thing is covered in blood! It got blood all over my floor!"

I reached out and touched the poncho; it was indeed caked with spongy, drying blood. Curious, I reached under and felt the inside of the poncho; it was clean.

* * *

 _ **FACT 12: GREMLIN COSTUME  
** Someone duct-taped a Halloween gremlin mask to a rain poncho to make a billowing, full-body costume. The outside of the costume was spattered with blood, but the inside was clean._

* * *

I suddenly felt a hand on my shoulder. Lucina pointed back to the hallway, the one that led to the Tomb, and raised an eyebrow in curiosity. That was not a room I particularly wanted to go into, but deep down, I had to admit that part of me knew it would be involved with a murder somehow.

 **FRAT HOUSE: THE TOMB**

One of the mannequins from the film set was lying on top of the stone altar, and it was the fucking most terrifying thing I had ever seen. The imitation dagger stuck out of its chest, where the heart would be. I realized: this was just like the simulacrum described in the ritual document.

* * *

 _ **FACT 13: MANNEQUIN  
** One of the mannequins from the film set was left on top of the altar in The Tomb. The fake dagger was stabbed into its chest._

* * *

"Oh, goddamn it!" JP swore, taking in the sight before him. "Why is all this creepy shit happening to me?" He walked up to the mannequin and just waved his arms at it. "This is... who the fuck would do this?!" He grabbed the imitation dagger by the blade, bracing against the hilt, and yanked it out of the mannequin's chest; it made an awful squicking sound as it emerged.

"You're the one with an ancient altar right down the hall from your bedroom," I remarked.

"Grauugh," he moaned, not even listening to me. He dropped the fake dagger on the ground and stomped around. "Goddamn it, this is... 'Hey, I just murdered someone, let me drag a fucking life-sized dummy and leave it somewhere just to be creepy as shit!'"

I was not particularly interested in using my precious investigation time to calm him down, so I nudged Lucina and we slid out of the room.

 **FRAT HOUSE: BEDROOM**

I decided to check out the secret passage, so we headed to JP's bedroom to open it up. I walked towards the chest of drawers to turn the handle to open the passage, but when I got close, I noticed something weird. The drawer next to the passage lever was ajar, and there was a very small, dark stain on the outside.

I opened the drawer and peered in. There were a couple of white socks inside, and on top of them was a large roll of duct tape and a small set of unused bandages. Both had blood spatters on them.

* * *

 _ **FACT 14: DUCT TAPE AND BANDAGES  
** A drawer in JP's frat house room contained a blood-spattered roll of duct tape and set of bandages._

* * *

Lucina and I shared a look. I turned the handle and opened up the secret passage, and then we went through.

 **FRAT HOUSE: KITCHEN**

When we emerged in the kitchen, I found Giuseppe there, leaning against the counter with one hand, pressing his other hand against his forehead. He turned to look at us from the sound of us coming in. He did not look very steady on his feet.

"Saya. Lucina. Are you, uh, able to think right now? Because I am not. Able to think. At the moment. Yes."

"We're fine," I said. "Um, aren't you surprised to see us come out of a secret passage in the wall?"

He laughed. "Uh, dude, everyone knows about that. JP showed everyone like yesterday. He's super proud of it."

I frowned. "Really?"

"I mean... I don't know he showed everybody. But he showed me and a bunch of other people, too. I know Rocky and Earl and Jane knew, at least."

* * *

 _ **FACT 15: SECRET PASSAGE  
** According to Bepi, most people knew about the secret passage leading from the kitchen to the bedroom. He's not sure exactly who JP told, but at a minimum it was Bepi, Earl, Rocky, and Jane._

* * *

"That's really helpful," I said. "Thanks."

"I'll celebrate by sitting down," he announced, and he dropped to the floor, leaning his head back against a cabinet.

Hoping he would be okay, I went on to the freezer; I had a feeling there might be evidence there.

 **FRAT HOUSE: WALK-IN FREEZER**

In a room full of silver and white, a wad of color stood out like a sore thumb. I walked over to the small, multicolored thing on the floor and examined it closely. It was a set of sticky-pads, all stuck and folded together. On each one there was a name: "Earl," "Jane," JP," and so forth. I glanced over at the pony kegs and saw none were labeled, they just stood there, blank and steel-colored.

* * *

 _ **FACT 16: PONY KEGS  
** Someone removed all the name labels from each of the pony kegs._

* * *

I looked closer at the kegs. They stood in their bunch in the middle of the floor, just like before, but one of them had been tipped over onto its side. I hesitantly pushed at one of the standing ones; it did not move easily.

"I don't think this could have fallen by accident," I said. I squatted down over the upset one and looked at the base. That label was still there. It had some German words I didn't understand and then "Non-alcoholic pale ale. Guaranteed high quality!"

I furrowed my brow. Non-alcoholic. It was Jane's.

* * *

 _ **FACT 16: PONY KEGS (revised)  
** Someone removed all the name labels from each of the pony kegs. Jane's keg was tipped over onto its side._

* * *

Lucina tapped my arm and pointed at the floor nearby. "Uh... what is it?" She rolled her eyes slightly and pointed more fervently.

I leaned over to where she was pointing and bent down. Very difficult to see, on the floor, were two scraps of torn, white paper. They were kind of frozen to the floor, and so no matter how careful I was, I couldn't pull them up without damaging them more. Eventually, I got them up, and there was a little bit of text on each one. The first said **SIC STUD** and the second said **LIET** and then a heart symbol.

* * *

 _ **FACT 17: PAPERS IN FREEZER  
** There were pieces of torn paper in the freezer, saying SIC STUD and LIET._

* * *

"Wow," I said to Lucina. "You have a really good eye." She nodded proudly, which perhaps was the first expression of self-esteem I'd ever seen from her. It looked nice.

"I FOUND THEM!" Giuseppe bellowed, bursting into the freezer. "Hey! Hey, in the freezer!"

"Christ, Bepi, you terrified me!" I squeaked.

"Sorry." He lowered his voice to a whisper and called again, "I found them!"

Rocky came in, looking extremely addled. "Oh thank god," he said. "This place is nuts. I found some stuff you gotta see."

I involuntarily clenched my chest. "Is it... bad?"

His eyes were hollow. "It's the fucking worst."

I sighed. "Okay." I turned to Bepi. "One question, though. Was the keg knocked over the last time you came in here?"

Giuseppe cast his bleary eyes over the kegs. "No, shit, this is new. I was in and out of here all night, and they were all standing up."

* * *

 _ **FACT 11: TIMING OF THE NIGHT (revised)  
** The party started around 10:30. Juliet says she and Emily left the dorm at around 11:00, and were attacked on their way through the quad. Juliet was found at around 12:10, and Emily was found at around 12:15. Jane's pony keg was knocked over sometime close to the end of the night._

* * *

"Thanks," I said. "Listen, if you can, try to ask people about when they were on the dance floor and when they weren't, okay?"

He nodded blearily. "I'll try. But... you know, after the lights got turned off, it was dark and everyone was drinking and... yeah. Most people were dancing most of the time, and I think someone would have noticed if a person was gone like for a long time. But like specific people at specific times? Anyone could have been anywhere." He rubbed his forehead.

I nodded. That's what I remembered, too: before JP turned the lights off, we were pretty on top of things. But when he did that, it was just impossible to tell who was where.

* * *

 _ **FACT 18: PARTY EVENTS  
** Most of the party participants were dancing most of the night. Before JP turned the lights off, it was impossible for anyone to leave for long. But after the lights were out, it would be much easier for someone to sneak away, at least for a few minutes._

* * *

I gave him a solid smile, and Rocky, Lucina and I headed back out towards the arts center.

 **NORTH QUAD**

As we walked, I noticed Lucina was close, next to me. Almost like it was magnetized, my hand moved over to find hers. When I touched her, she grasped my hand solidly. Her skin was so smooth.

Trying not to focus too much on any of this, I looked over at Rocky. "Just so I can keep it straight," I said, "the party started around 10:30, right?"

"Um, yeah." His voice was hoarse; whatever he saw must have really shaken him.

"Okay. And do you know when JP turned the lights off? That's when we really started to lose control, in there."

He scratched his head. "Um... I think it was a little before eleven. I'm pretty sure."

I didn't understand how he could be so sure, but that matched up with my estimate pretty well.

* * *

 _ **FACT 11: TIMING OF THE NIGHT (revised)  
** The party started around 10:30. Juliet says she and Emily left the dorm at around 11:00, and were attacked on their way through the quad. JP turned off the lights for the party a little before 11:00. Juliet was found at around 12:10, and Emily was found at around 12:15. Jane's pony keg was knocked over sometime close to the end of the night._

* * *

"One more thing," I said. "You were helping set up right before the party, right? While me and Ashley and Rodrigo were getting ready to chaperone?"

"Yeah, I was in that party room most of the night."

"Okay. Um, was there anyone else around, then?"

He squinted in thought. "Well, JP was there the whole time. Oh, and Juliet came in like at 10:00 to check what beer Emily would be drinking. She said she needed to know to 'accessorize.' Um, and Ashley and Earl were there for a few minutes... they were talking all weird and secretive."

* * *

 _ **FACT 19: PRE-PARTY EVENTS  
** In the time just before the party, Rocky was setting his equipment up. JP, Ashley, Juliet, and Earl were also there for at least a few minutes._

* * *

 **ARTS CENTER: VISUAL ART COMPUTER LAB**

Rocky led us not into the music section, but rather to the computer lab. When we got there, he stood stiffly near the door, looking about as uncomfortable as anyone I've ever seen. "I found a USB stick in Emily's sock," he said. "And there was a digital camera under the control board with a USB port."

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. "Did they really..."

He interrupted me. "The stick's in that computer there. You should watch it, but I have to leave. I can't... I can't be around that again." He stiffly walked out of the computer lab.

Lucina gave me a very uncertain look. "You don't have to watch," I said, as kindly as I could. She hesitated.

"I promise, you can trust me," I said. "I have a dark side I know came out in the last trial. I can... turn off my feelings, I think, and that makes me not really care when I'm doing something wrong. But, it also means I'm going to be able to watch these videos."

I shrugged. "But you can keep me honest, right? And once I turn my feelings back on... I think I'm going to need you."

She looked extremely unsure, but eventually she just sighed. She gave me a soft gaze and squeezed my hand. Then she stepped out of the computer lab.

Without even thinking about it, I turned and sat down in front of the computer Rocky had indicated. A window was open with two icons in it, both mpeg files. The first one was called THE FUN. The second one was called THE DEATH.

* * *

 _ **FACT 20: VIDEOS  
** Rocky found a USB stick in Emily's sock which contained two video files, which appear to have been recorded on a digital camera tonight._

* * *

I opened THE FUN.

The file opened to show the blank wall of the recording studio. Emily and Juliet's voices rang out, loud and cacophonous. The camera jerkily turned around. It came to rest on the green, gremlin mask; someone was holding the camera at arms-length and pointing it at themselves. Their eyes, the only visible part of their body, were closed.

The camera slowly panned around and came to rest on Emily, duct-taped to the chair and alive, staring up in terror. The camera was placed down on the floor, showing Emily's legs and the bottom of the chair she was sitting in.

"Please," she whimpered. "I don't... understand, but please don't..."

The bottom of the black poncho, obscuring even the slightest glimpse of the wearer's feet, walked into the camera range, standing in front of her. The ceremonial dagger dangled down from the top of the screen, flashing in the light.

"Stop it!" Juliet's voice rang out, clear and horrified. "Let us go, let us go!"

Emily didn't yell anything as the dagger was raised out of the frame. But she did screech a second later. A spurt of blood landed on the floor next to her.

The video went on for five more minutes. I watched it all. Juliet kept yelling, "Let us go!" and Emily kept yelping in pain. When it ended, I felt more than numb; I felt like I was literally hollow.

* * *

 _ **FACT 19: VIDEOS (revised)  
** Rocky found a USB stick in Emily's sock which contained two video files, which appear to have been recorded on a digital camera tonight. The first video appears to have been recorded by the killer, and it mostly consists of them torturing Emily._

* * *

Curious, I opened the video again to watch the part before the horrible part, to see if I could make out any details about the person behind the mask. Unfortunately, there was nothing; the camera was too shaky to figure out how tall they were or anything.

But, as the image panned over away from the mask to show Emily, I noticed something. As it turned, it moved across Rocky's control panel, and, although it took me a couple of tries, I paused it at the right moment. There was a clear image of the bar counter. It read 344. Doing some quick math, that was about 10 minutes.

* * *

 _ **FACT 6: DRUM MACHINE (revised)  
** The drum machine in Rocky's studio has been on for about an hour and a half. He insists it was off when he left before the party. The first video shows the killer torturing Emily around 10 minutes after the drum machine was turned on._

* * *

 _ **FACT 11: TIMING OF THE NIGHT (revised)  
** The party started around 10:30. Juliet says she and Emily left the dorm at around 11:00, and were attacked on their way through the quad. Rocky's drum machine was turned on around 10:45, and the video showed Emily being tortured around ten minutes later. JP turned off the lights for the party a little before 11:00. Juliet was found at around 12:10, and Emily was found at around 12:15. Jane's pony keg was knocked over sometime close to the end of the night._

* * *

I closed the first video and just sat in front of the computer for a couple of moments. Then, without letting myself think about it, I opened THE DEATH.

The video opened up showing a corner of the studio where nothing was happening; the camera was on the floor and pointed away from Emily. But I could hear her, crying. Juliet blubbered and moaned wordlessly.

I heard a footstep, and Emily's voice hitched. "P-please..." she stammered. "I-I don't ex-ex-exactly understand w-what you want, but please..." She sniffled and bawled. "I-I'm ex-ex-extremely afraid, please. Please d-don't. P-please." There was a pause. "I promise... I-I promise I w-won't ex-ex-expose y-you. I promise! Just please d-don't. D..." And then there was the sudden sound of running footsteps, a wet crunch, and a very short shriek. A moment later, Juliet's voice screamed, fading out into a moan. More footsteps, and the video abruptly ended.

* * *

 _ **FACT 20: VIDEOS (revised)  
** Rocky found a USB stick in Emily's sock which contained two video files, which appear to have been recorded on a digital camera tonight. The first video appears to have been recorded by the killer, and it mostly consists of them torturing Emily. The second video shows nothing, but there is audio of Emily pleading for her life before, apparently, she is killed._

* * *

In my heart somewhere, I was wailing; I could hear it. A furious, screaming pain was just flowing in my body. I reached up and touched my cheek, expecting tears. It was totally dry.

A burst of static, and Monokuma's voice suddenly barked from the hidden speakers: "Your time for investigation has ended, you worthless drunks! Report immediately to the main quad to proceed to the trial!"

 **MAIN QUAD**

I don't completely remember leaving the computer lab and walking over to the main quad; I have flashes of Lucina and Rocky pulling me along. I was talking normally and acting normally, I think, but those moments just aren't in my head anymore.

Instead, I remember a fantasy I was having. It was ten years later. Emily and I sat in a tea shop in a big city; she excitedly told me of her new gravitational model and blushingly admitted it had received praise from the top professors in her field. A diamond engagement ring sparkled on her finger.

On a total whim, I told her, "I had a huge crush on you when we first met." She blushed and squeaked, and I continued, "I've been over it for years, but I couldn't help it at first; you were just so cute and brilliant." She said, "Please don't mention that in your toast," and we both laughed.

I blinked and suddenly found myself standing in the main quad in front of the hideous sculpture. Lucina and Rocky were with me, and the quad slowly filled up with straggling, stumbling suspects.

I felt a hand on my arm, and I turned. Juliet stood there, still holding tight to Rodrigo. "Saya," she said. "Are you going to save us again?"

I didn't know what to say. "Please save us again," she implored. "Please."

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE: Another investigation! Once again, I put a lot of effort into making the mystery difficult but solvable at this point. WHODUNNIT?**

 **With the help of some readers, I also created a discord server; it's the ideal place to try to work out the mystery and discuss the story and characters in general. The link is on my profile! (Just remove the spaces.) Stop on by!**


	19. History of Hellenistic Art II: Part F

**ELEVATOR**

The elevator descent was quiet except for Katy's sniffling and Juliet wordlessly mumbling to herself. Jane's stripes had mutated to a grid; she looked like someone had pressed a giant waffle iron against her whole body. She faced the corner of the elevator for no explicable reason.

The doors finally opened and we somberly started walking out into the courtroom. But, Rocky grabbed my sleeve, holding me back. I looked at him, confused.

"Uh... there was one other thing I found in the studio," he said. "I really don't think it's a clue, but I'm dumb, maybe you know better." He hesitated, wincing. "So... on the bottom and side of the chair, next to Emily's hand, there were scratches. She could move her fingers around, and she scratched something. A message. It was messy, but..." He sighed. "Look, I really don't think it's a clue."

"Rocky. Emily was able to scratch out a secret message, and you don't think it was a clue?! What did it say?"

"Uh." He looked miserable and sallow, glancing away from me. "It was hard to read, but..."

I crossed my arms. "What did it say?" I asked firmly.

"It said, 'I love you, mum.'"

That almost broke me. All my emotional control was almost just rushed away by the horror and grief and pointlessness of this whole night. But I maintained. I breathed. "You're right, I don't think it's a clue," I said. "But thank you for telling me."

 **TRIAL ROOM**

The trial room had somehow changed; instead of a giant library, it was a giant bar; shelves of old-timey liquors lining the walls, reaching up to the dizzyingly high ceiling. I took my place behind my lectern. Emily's space was filled by a portrait; there was an X over her face, but the ends of the lines were little stars; like the drawing of a constellation. I looked over at Therion's portrait, which had, splashed across it, REST: 00.

Despite myself, I respected the attention to detail.

"All right, you worthless babies!" Monokuma announced when we were all in our correct places. "It has come to my attention that some of you are a little bit incapacitated!" He slammed his paw down on the table to accent each word in the next sentence: "That doesn't change a thing! Justice is justice! If one of you is smart enough to strike when the rest of you are dulling your senses with alcohol, then more power to him or her!"

Earl gripped his lectern, glowering down at the floor. "I am ashamed to admit my contru.. cn..." He paused and took a deep breath. "My contributions to this trial will not be up to the standards I hold myself to. I trust Coelho to speak for me."

"Thank you," Ashley primly replied. "Those of us who are uninhibited will lead this trial to completion; you can trust that!"

"Wait, so hold up," Nicole interrupted. "What're you saying? Just because we're drunk, we shouldn't speak up? You can just railroad us all you want?"

"Of course you may speak up," Ashley said. "I merely request you allow us to direct the discussion. Research indicates that when intoxicated, people can hold 125% fewer facts in their head at a given time. We are more capable at leading the trial, but we welcome your input!"

"I got some input!" Nicole barked. "Barrett did it!"

Barrett glared at her. "What the hell? You were with me all night!"

"Yeah, but if no one got killed, you might have gotten your spine broken!" Nicole argued.

"Let's... not accuse just out of nowhere?" Bepi dazedly suggested.

"Well, it's kind of a good point, right?" Rocky said. "You five might more of a motive than the rest of us do."

"We all want to get out of here!" Barrett argued.

"Hey, everyone," I said, as tactfully as possible. "Let's... try to lay out all the evidence before making accusations, all right?" Nicole just rolled her eyes, but she did not verbally protest. Taking that as a good sign, I continued: "This murder is different from the last one because there's a direct eyewitness." Julit whimpered, hugging herself tightly. "Uh, but considering her state, let's just try to get a basic idea of the facts of this murder without asking Juliet to testify, all right? She's been through enough tonight."

"Agreed," Rodrigo said, nodding to me gratefully.

"I think I have a pretty good timeline for the night," I said. "Does anyone disagree with this?"

* * *

 ** _FACT 11: TIMING OF THE NIGHT (revised)_** ** _  
_** _The party started around 10:30. Juliet says she and Emily left the dorm at around 11:00, and were attacked on their way through the quad. Rocky's drum machine was turned on around 10:45, and the video showed Emily being tortured around ten minutes later. JP turned off the lights for the party a little before 11:00. Juliet was found at around 12:10, and Emily was found at around 12:15. Jane's pony keg was knocked over sometime close to the end of the night._

* * *

JP frowned. "Why do you have me turning off the lights in there?"

Rodrigo glared at him. "That was a terrible turning point!" he snapped. "Before that happened, I could easily perform my duty as a sentry and protector! Afterwards, all was madness!"

* * *

 ** _FACT 18: PARTY EVENTS_** ** _  
_** _Most of the party participants were dancing most of the night. Before JP turned the lights off, it was impossible for anyone to leave for long. But after the lights were out, it would be much easier for someone to sneak away, at least for a few minutes._

* * *

"Hold… hold up," Nicole said, waving her hand at me. "How do you know when everything happened in the studio, again?"

"The drum machine," I said. "It counts up every four beats, so just subtracted to figure out when it was turned on. It was about an hour and a half before we found Emily."

Nicole squinted at me blearily. "Is that how it works? Like… how do we know it didn't start in the middle or something?"

"It can't," Rocky insisted. "It just counts up as long as the beat's on."

"Why!" Earl burst out. There was a pause. "Would!"

We looked at him expectantly. "Um, yeah?" Rocky ventured. "Why would…"

"The killer turn on the drum machine?!" Earl finished sharply, looking proud of himself for finishing his thought.

"Hm, that's a good question," Rocky replied. "Seems kinda dumb. I mean, unless they just wanted to dance while they committed murder. I relate."

"Maybe it's a distraction!" Ashley exclaimed. "Maybe she was killed elsewhere and left in the studio!"

"She wasn't," Juliet murmured.

"Naw, she was totally killed in the studio" Rocky spoke up. "We have... pretty direct evidence for it; I just don't want to think about it."

* * *

 _ **FACT 20: VIDEOS (revised)**.  
_ _Rocky found a USB stick in Emily's sock which contained two video files, which appear to have been recorded on a digital camera tonight. The first video appears to have been recorded by the killer, and it mostly consists of them torturing Emily. The second video shows nothing, but there is audio of Emily pleading for her life before, apparently, she is killed._

* * *

"She was killed in the studio, where we found her."

Ashley nodded. "Indeed. That appears inarguable. A video could be doctored, but I doubt anyone could do it in such a short amount of time."

"Ugh, oh god, seriously?" Nicole asked. "They took a video? Why? That's fucking psycho." She thought for a moment. "Also, it's fuckin' stupid."

Bepi was resting his head down on his lectern. "Killers sometimes want whassaword. Trophies."

"Whoop whoop!" yelped Jane very suddenly. Her enormous grin did not waver. The grid was gradually turning into outright plaid.

"Trophies?" JP muttered, wisely ignoring Jane. "That's sick."

"Yeah, but I don't think that's why the killer did it," I said. "The actual reason might be just as sick, though. Lucina, Rocky, and I found something in the studio which mentioned recording parts of this murder…"

* * *

 _ **FACT 4: OLD DOCUMENT.**  
At the scene of the murder, there was an old printout describing the process of committing a ritual murder. This ritual is associated with JP's fraternity: Chi Chi Chi._

* * *

Rodrigo was ashen pale. "An evil murder, hoping to harness demonic powers." He hung his head. "This is precisely the kind of wickedness I have been trained to battle…"

Earl shook his head, looking nauseated. "Don't blame yourself. We all lived among a vicious Menchenfresser without knowing it."

Rodrigo frowned, then nodded in understanding. "Ah, I see. Friend Morale reverts back to his native Japanese when intoxicated."

Katy raised a trembling hand. "Um. The email said… she had other wounds. "Could that have been because of this… ritual?"

"Yes," I said, nodding. "A lot of aspects of the murder matched the details in the ritual. Emily was the 'Scapegoat,' Juliet was the 'Witness,' and there was a mannequin we found which could have been the 'Simulacrum.'"

"Wait!" Barret screeched suddenly. "Chi chi chi! That's your fraternity!" He pointed at JP triumphantly. "You must have done it!"

JP gaped at him. "No! Dude, we're a fraternity, not some kind of… weirdo Satanic thing! We don't have rituals!"

"Dude, you got a creepy altar in your house," Nicole said.

"That's for BONDING."

She rolled her eyes. "Right. Bonding, like the secret papers from the fifties or whatever?"

"I don't know what those are!" JP insisted. "Seriously, guys, I've never heard of any crazy chi chi chi rituals."

"Let's think about this," I said. "Because… I wonder if this isn't the only piece of evidence implicating JP."

"What?!" JP waved his hands around in distress.

"You did turn the lights off in the party," Rodrigo said.

"And Juliet was found in your little apartment!" Ashley added. She blinked and looked over next to her; Lucina was holding out a piece of paper. Ashley took it, skimmed over it, and announced, "Lucina says she found something pretty concrete! In your bedroom, there were tools that were almost certainly used in the crime."

* * *

 ** _FACT 14: DUCT TAPE AND BANDAGES_** ** _  
_** _A drawer in JP's frat house room contained a blood-spattered roll of duct tape and set of bandages._

* * *

JP's mouth hung open; he was pale and sweating. "I swear, I didn't put that there!" he said. "I don't know where any of that shit came from. And anyone could have put Juliet and that creepy mannequin in my apartment! We were all partying next door!"

"No more lies, Unherlichkeithund!" Earl barked.

"Oh my god, stop yelling," Bepi moaned, holding on tight to his lectern.

"Dudes, I swear…"

"If your fraternity's so innocent, how come we found that creepy document?" Rocky interrupted. "That's definitely been around a while; look at it. It's all… old-looking."

"JP did it!" Nicole yelled.

"Burn the fratboy!" Barrett agreed.

"Well!" Monokuma's voice drifted down on us. "Are you all done already? You've all made up your minds? Ready to vote?!"

"No!" I yipped hastily. "Everyone, let's… let's calm down, okay? Try to be rational?"

"Burn the fratboy!" Barrett yelled again.

"But hold on! He might not have done it!"

"I don't fucking care if he did it or not, I just want to burn him."

I glowered at Barrett then continued. "Look, that document we found is… kind of suspicious. Because sure, it looked old, but that doesn't mean it really was old. There was a really convenient way to make a document like that. Remember Nicole?"

Nicole looked at me blankly. "I don't remember what happened five minutes ago."

"Um. A couple of days ago. You were complaining about it."

* * *

 _"Ugg," she grunted. "It's like, super easy to do all this stupid filter crap, but I can't_ _select_ _anything." She clicked around on the set of options. "Ooo, look, I can make it all sepia-tone! Now it looks like a kid's crayon drawing! Now it looks all metallic!" She sighed. "If I wanted to make a coat out of crayon, I'd..." She trailed off, tapping her chin in thought. "Saya! Remind me that I totally want to make a crayon coat, okay?"_

* * *

"Ohh yeah. Crayon coat. Thanks, Saya!"

"No… no. The computer lab. It had printers, and also the software let you use a bunch of filters. It'd be easy to make something that looked old even if it wasn't, right?"

Ashley put her hands on her hips. "That's not proof," she said. "With so many clues pointing to JP, we need more than speculation."

"Okay… there was something else weird I noticed about the ritual document. I remembered something JP said the other day…"

* * *

 _"Um, JP?"_

 _"Aaugh!" He screeched, spun around, and threw his hand up into a salute. "Sir! Chi chi chi was first nationally sanctioned by President John Tyler in Princeton, New Jersey!"_

* * *

Rodrigo blinked at me. "What's important about such a trivial moment?"

"Um, well, you might not know this if you're not American, but remember what the document said?"

* * *

 _Ritual 33FB is the second-oldest ceremony in Chi Chi Chi history: Its first recorded performance was only two years after the chapter had been certified, in_ 1865.

* * *

Nearly everyone in the room looked at me blankly (the only exception was Ashley, who nodded in understanding). "Okay," I said, "maybe you only know it if you're American and a total nerd. But, um, John Tyler wasn't president any time close to 1865. I'm pretty sure he was dead by then."

"Yeah!" JP agreed. "Trip-chi is way older than 1865!"

Ashley glowered. "He's still the source of this information. He could have been lying about President Tyler, the first president to reach the office without being elected, known by the epithet 'His Accidency.'"

"Dude, couldn't be wrong about that stuff if I wanted to!"

I frowned. "Yeah. I really just have a gut feeling there's more going on here. If only there was objective evidence…"

"Wait." Bepi spoke up. He had both hands on his lectern and was staring down at it. "Wait. Wait wait wait. Hold on. Wait."

There was a long pause. Eventually, Rodrigo tried to speak up. "Do you…"

"Wait." Bepi took a deep breath, then looked up, eye bleary. "Why are we talking about JP? He couldn't have done it. We already figured that out."

"What?" Ashley gaped at him. "We did no such thing!"

"Yeah, we did!" Bepi insisted. "With… with Saya's timeline. Right? Remember?"

* * *

 ** _FACT 11: TIMING OF THE NIGHT (revised)_** ** _  
_** _The party started around 10:30. Juliet says she and Emily left the dorm at around 11:00, and were attacked on their way through the quad. Rocky's drum machine was turned on around 10:45, and the video showed Emily being tortured around ten minutes later. JP turned off the lights for the party a little before 11:00. Juliet was found at around 12:10, and Emily was found at around 12:15. Jane's pony keg was knocked over sometime close to the end of the night._

* * *

"Yes," I said, pretending to come to a sudden realization. "Of course! The killer was on video in the music studio at about the same time JP was turning the lights off. He couldn't be in two places at once!"

"But why the document?" Rocky asked. "Why the tape in the drawer? And the creepy mannequin?"

"Because they're trying to fucking frame me!" JP burst out.

Rodrigo nodded. "Yes, it seems that must be the case."

"But that's so awful," Katy whimpered. "All that time, hurting Emily? Making Juliet watch? Taking those… horrible, horrible videos? Just to… to pretend to be doing a ritual that's made up anyway? All to frame JP?"

Ashley nodded. "It does seem… unnecessarily extravagant." She sighed. "But if we know JP must be innocent, then a frame-up is the only explanation. Leaving Juliet and the mannequin in his living area, planting the document in the studio and the tape in the bedroom… all designed to make us think he did it."

Earl frowned, drooping over his lectern. "If not JP, who could the killer be?"

"I'm afraid I know," Rodrigo said. "It's cruel and terrible, but I know who the killer must be."

"How?" I asked, although I knew what he was going to say.

"It's simple process of elimination. When Emily and Juliet were initially captured and subdued, nearly all of us were at the party, three chaperones monitoring all present, lights on to illuminate any wrongdoing. I'm certain no one vanished for long enough to arrange this crime."

I faltered, taking an uncertain step back. "Wait, you're not saying…"

"Yes. The only one who could possibly have been the killer is the other individual missing from the party!"

Earl pointed at Lucina with a rigid, stiff arm. "You! It must have been you!"

"Burn the fuckin' conductor!" Barrett yelled.

Lucina, for her part, shrunk on herself and shook her head frantically.

"Hey, no," I said. "Wait. It can't be Lucina. She can't talk, remember? But Rodrigo, when we found Juliet, she specifically told us the killer asked her which of them should be killed."

Juliet let out a quiet sob. She stared at nothing, her breathing fast.

"Aha!" Rocky exclaimed. "You're forgetting something, Saya. In the music studio!"

* * *

 ** _FACT 5: CRIME SCENE NOTE_** _  
 _There was a piece of paper in the trash can directing someone to choose which of two people will die.__

* * *

"The killer asked her with a note, not by speaking!"

"Buuuurn the conduuuuctor!" Barrett screeched.

"Indeed!" Earl exclaimed. "Her guilt is inarguable!"

Katy put her hand on her chest and stared at Lucina with huge, tear-filled eyes. "Is it true? Did you do this to Emily? I thought you were her friend…"

Lucina just shook her head back and forth violently, then she looked right at me with pleading eyes. I decided enough was enough.

"Everyone… I don't want to believe Lucina could have done this," I said. "But I also think there's hard evidence she didn't."

"Gauuugh," Nicole moaned, rolling her eyes. "I'm sick of evidence!"

"But this is important!" I insisted. "Our lives depend on convicting the right person! Isn't it worth it to consider all the information we could find?"

Nicole started to argue, but Ashley cut her off. "Sober person vote! All in favor of more hard evidence, raise your hands!" Rocky, Rodrigo, Ashley, and I all raised our hands. "The sober motion passes! Please proceed."

I started to speak, but Bepi raised his hand. We all looked at him expectantly, but he just stared back. "Oh, um, I'm voting for… uh." He lowered his hand. "Never mind."

"Um, okay." I gave as reassuring a look to Lucina as I could. "We found a costume in the frat house. Juliet said the killer wore it."

Juliet nodded whimperingly.

* * *

 ** _FACT 12: GREMLIN COSTUME_** ** _  
_** _Someone duct-taped a Halloween gremlin mask to a rain poncho to make a billowing, full-body costume. The outside of the costume was spattered with blood, but the inside was clean._

* * *

"God, that's so creepy," Nicole muttered. "Where'd they even find something like that?"

"I think they must have made it," I answered. "They bought the duct tape and the poncho at the student stores, and as for the mask…"

* * *

 _Nicole chatted pleasantly as we walked; Barrett said nothing. When we arrived at the theater, we followed Nicole backstage and into a side room. It was completely filled with costumes: clothes, wigs, and even masks._

* * *

"…I think they must have found it right there at the arts center, in the costume shop."

"Well, that's psycho nightmare shit, but who cares, huh?" Barrett asked. "Made a creepy costume, so what?"

"So, this particular costume couldn't have been worn by Lucina," I insisted. "Because she held it in the frat house, and I noticed something."

In distaste, he thrust the poncho out to Lucina, who, after a moment of confusion, took it. She held it at arms' length by the shoulders, so it draped down. It was wide and billowy, reaching down to Lucina's knees; she was the tallest of my classmates, so it would easily cover most other people completely.

"She's the tallest of everyone, and it wouldn't have covered her whole body. I think Earl is second-tallest, and she's still got three inches on him, at least."

"Why's that even important?" JP asked.

I sighed. "Emily's death… she had a lot of cuts on her, and there was a lot of blood. And the killer had to be close by, inflicting the cuts and even bandaging some of the wounds."

* * *

 _ **FACT 2: EMILY'S WOUNDS.  
**_ _Emily's body is covered with wounds of various sizes which all look to have been made with a blade of some kind. Some of the larger wounds were carefully bandaged._

* * *

"It's really, really unlikely Lucina could have done that without getting blood on her jeans. But she's clean."

* * *

 ** _FACT 8: LUCINA'S TESTIMONY_** _  
 _Lucina says she was in the theater all night and didn't hear or see anyone. There are no bloodstains on her body or clothes.__

* * *

Ashley scowled at me. "As you said, our lives are at risk. I hope you have more than 'really unlikely.'"

I nodded. "In fact, I do. There's v…"

Jane suddenly made a loud, protracted raspberry sound with her mouth. When she was done, she just grinned into think air. We all stared at her.

I tried to recover my poise as best I could. "…Anyway, there's video evidence."

* * *

 _The camera slowly panned around and came to rest on Emily, duct-taped to the chair and alive, staring up in terror. The camera was placed down on the floor, showing Emily's legs and the bottom of the chair she was sitting in._

 _"Please," she whimpered. "I don't... understand, but please don't..."_

 _The bottom of the black poncho, obscuring even the slightest glimpse of the wearer's feet, walked into the camera range, standing in front of her. The ceremonial dagger dangled down from the top of the screen, flashing in the light._

* * *

 _"_ The poncho fit whoever was in the video," I said. "So it couldn't have been Lucina."

"Oh thank god," Katy exclaimed. "It couldn't have been Lucina. Oh god." She took a long breath. "I'm so relieved."

I put my hands on my hips and scrunched up my face in confusion. "But that's where I'm stuck," I said, scratching my head, which perhaps was a step too far. "Because if it couldn't have been Lucina, and it couldn't have been anyone at the party, that eliminates everyone. Who could have captured Emily?"

There was a long pause, as we looked around at one another in confusion.

Finally, Ashley crossed her arms. "Ah." She nodded. "We have not quite eliminated every suspect." Her face fell into a glare, and she looked across the circle at the cowering, blood-covered, sniffling ultimate girlfriend. "There's still one possibility, isn't there?"

Juliet blinked up at her, confusion streaked across her face. "…What?"

"Juliet was on the scene. She was covered with the blood of the deceased…."

"No!" Juliet whimpered, beginning to sob. "No no, I'm the victim!"

But Ashley kept going. "…She was found near a place where false evidence was planted, she went out of her way to be alone with the victim at the time the murder took place…"

"No no no!" Juliet begged. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm terrible and awful and evil but I didn't!" She threw her arms over her head and wailed. "I didn't, I didn't!"

"Coelho!" Earl reprimanded. "You must not accost a trauma lady!" (I assume he meant to say "traumatized.")

Ashley grimaced. "Is she trauma? Or is she just a good actor?" She scowled at Juliet in disdain. "She's our only suspect."

"She has suffered enough!" Earl insisted. "Remember the videos Wild described? She appeared in those, so she cannot be the killer."

I put a finger in the air. "Actually… that isn't true. We hear Juliet, but we never actually see her."

* * *

 _The bottom of the black poncho, obscuring even the slightest glimpse of the wearer's feet, walked into the camera range, standing in front of her. The ceremonial dagger dangled down from the top of the screen, flashing in the light._

 _"Stop it!" Juliet's voice rang out, clear and horrified. "Let us go, let us go!"_

 _Emily didn't yell anything as the dagger was raised out of the frame. But she did screech a second later. A spurt of blood landed on the floor next to her._

 _The video went on for five more minutes. I watched it all. Juliet kept yelling, "Let us go!" and Emily kept yelping in pain._

* * *

Earl frowned. "Still! I.."

"Vote for me!"

Everyone froze and looked at Juliet, whose scream had been maybe the most heartbroken, despairing sound I'd ever heard. She pressed her hands against her temples as if trying to crush her own head. "Vote for me, vote for me!"

Rodrigo leaned forward. "Friend Mountebank, are you confessing?"

"It's my fault!" Juliet insisted. "It's all my fault, it's all my fault!" She desperately looked around the circle at us all. "Please! I can't… I can't bear this. I can't! I'm the one who said to kill Emily! She had to hear me say it! I deserve to be executed, I should be executed! She was so wonderful, and she'd be alive if I was just stronger…"

Even despite everything, I felt tears in my eyes watching her. "Juliet… you're saying you didn't kill her?"

"I did!" Juliet screeched. "It's my fault. It doesn't matter how she died; I'm the reason she's dead." She stared up at Monokuma with imploring eyes. "That has to be enough, right? It's my fault!"

"Nope!" Monokuma said simply.

"But… but no!" Juliet wailed. "It's my fault!"

"The murderer is the one who dealt the killing blow," Monokuma intoned. "I'm surprised at you; you're a better student than that. I thought you paid attention in class."

Juliet's mouth fell open. "But… but no! I…"

"Juliet." I kept my voice as stern as I could. "Stop."

She flinched as if someone hit her. "I… Saya…"

I decided it was best to ignore her. "Did anyone else notice that Juliet started trying to change the subject when we were discussing the first video?"

Her voice was a weak, pathetic moan, and it almost, almost broke my resolve. "Saya, please…"

"I think I know why Juliet did that. It's because that video is inescapable evidence against her."

Katy looked despondent. "How?"

"Because it doesn't match up with the story she gave us. She specifically mentioned being gagged."

* * *

"The thing in your mouth," I said, holding up the wires from the studio. "Was it this?"

Juliet gasped and buried her face back in Rodrigo's neck. "Yes! Yes yes, oh god. It was wrapped around behind me, I couldn't..." She sobbed again. "They only took it off to ask me who should die. Then they put it back in. Oh god..."

* * *

"But then, in the video…"

* * *

 _"Stop it!" Juliet's voice rang out, clear and horrified. "Let us go, let us go!"_

* * *

"She spoke. She couldn't have been gagged."

"It wasn't a real gag!" Juliet wailed. "It was just some wires! I could still talk, I just…"

"You would have been able to make sounds," I interrupted. "But with thick wire in your mouth, biting down on it with your molars? You definitely would not have been able to make an L sound."

She faltered, then looked around the circle at everyone else. "This isn't true! I just… I just was confused when I was saying it! I didn't have the gag all the time."

Rodrigo pressed a hand against his head; he looked completely baffled. "I… I feel overwhelmed. How could this be?"

"This also clears up another aspect of the case I was confused about," I said. "How did the killer move both Juliet and the mannequin to the frat house without taking two trips, which would be twice as risky? But if the killer is Juliet herself, she could have just carried the mannequin."

"Aha!" JP suddenly exclaimed, pointing at me. "That doesn't make sense!" He grinned proudly. "Because of the costume!"

Everyone looked at him blankly, except Juliet who looked at him as if he was literally Jesus Christ. "What about the costume?" Nicole asked.

"Psht, think about it!" JP asserted. "It'd be really stupid to wander around the quad without it, right? So the killer would definitely wear it to carry the mannequin to the frat house. Right?"

I looked at him skeptically. "Right…?"

"Well, but both Juliet and the costume were all covered in blood! Remember?"

* * *

 ** _FACT 12: GREMLIN COSTUME_** ** _  
_** _Someone duct-taped a Halloween gremlin mask to a rain poncho to make a billowing, full-body costume. The outside of the costume was spattered with blood, but the inside was clean._

* * *

"The inside was clean!" He smacked his fist into his palm with certainty. "Get it? If Juliet had worn the costume, she'd have gotten blood all over the inside!" He thrust a finger in the air suddenly. "Oh! And the mannequin! Whether or not she'd been wearing the costume, she'd have gotten blood on the mannequin, if she was carrying it. But it wasn't bloody!"

Juliet looked to him desperately. "I don't understand… but if this proves I didn't do it, thank you, JP! Thank you so much!"

I shook my head. "I have a theory about this," I said. "I don't have proof, but it makes sense. It's witness testimony,"

Bepi gaped. "How is witness tistima… toostaym… yes. How is that not proof?"

I shrugged. "Well, because the witness in question is, um. Not at her best." I looked at Jane, who was drooling.

"Oh, c'mon," JP argued. "We can't listen to Jane, she's on shrooms or something."

"I wouldn't trust everything she's said," I replied. "But she saw something outside not long before Rodrigo and I found Juliet. It's possible she really saw the killer out the window."

* * *

 _"Ghost!" She looked delighted. "It was outside. Had a white face, white, like the moon. It had something big in its arms, like a body. It was alone. Ghosts are scary."_

* * *

"I think she saw Juliet carrying the mannequin."

"Gggggghost," Jane agreed.

"Oh, whatever," JP said. "She also said this ghost had a big white face like the moon. Juliet isn't that pale, and the costume's mask is green, not white."

I tilted my head at him. "Is it? The whole mask?"

"Um, duh!" JP shook his head at me, frustrated, but Lucina's look told me she understood what I meant.

"You're wrong." I looked at JP blankly. "The entire mask wasn't green. Part of it was white."

* * *

 _I looked closer at the costume. It was a large, flowing, black poncho duct-taped to a green, floppy, full-head gremlin mask to create ghoulish kind of cloak. The inside of the mask was white, so the empty eye holes looked like horrible, iris-less eyeballs staring at me._

* * *

Nicole pointed at me with bleary understanding. "Oh shit," she said. "Oh shit! She wore it inside-out!"

I nodded. "She hurts Emily with the knife, getting blood on the outside of the costume. Then she turned the costume inside out like a tube sock and wore it that way when carrying the mannequin, getting blood on herself, but not on the mannequin. Then she turned it back and planted it in the frathouse." I nodded smarty at JP. "So, it's totally possible for Juliet to have worn the costume."

JP started to say something, but there was a sudden hissing, rasping, grating sound. It was strange and eerie, like a distant, angry cat or a squeaking door. I noticed several of us looking around the room, trying to find the source of the sound. "What is that?" Nicole muttered. "Where… oh fuck."

She had found the source of the noise. She was staring in terror right at Juliet.

Juliet had changed. She had both her hands on her lectern, squeezing it so hard, her hands were eggshell white. She was looking straight at me, an expression on her face like a starving wolf. She was growling in the back of her throat. I don't think anyone knew what to say.

The growl ended with a harsh, coughing bark. Blood and tear streaks coated her face like war paint, and she just stared. "It was supposed to be you," she said.

I took a step back. I realized the look on her face was the look of someone who wanted to kill me.

"It was supposed to be you, Saya," she continued. "I would have loved… it would have meant more. And I almost had you." She blinked and suddenly was bimbo again. "Oh, Saya, are you suuuuure you don't want to drink at the party?! Wouldn't it be so much fun to get dressed up? I think I've seen Katy checking you out…!" She blinked again; monster. "You disgusting, deviant bitch. I almost had you."

Katy whimpered, like she was in physical pain. "Juliet…?"

Slowly, Juliet turned her head to look at Katy. No other part of her body moved. "I still… got something out of Emily, though," she said, eyes oddly blank. "She was a useless nobody. No one loved her. She lived in no one's heart. Useless, pointless girl."

"Oh my god," Bepi muttered.

"And it's… it's poetic." Juliet swung her head around like a puppet on strings to look back at me. "Someone couldn't walk because of her. How… how sweet that she be sacrificed so these fine, strong men wouldn't be crippled, too."

"…What?" Rodrigo stuttered, baffled. "You did this to save us from being unable to walk?!"

"That doesn't make any sense!" Ashley snapped. "If you had escaped, they'd all have been executed!"

"Yes, but they wouldn't be crippled," Juliet explained. "Better for a man to die strong and able and tall than wither like a… like a rotting vegetable."

She smiled; it looked like someone who had seen smiling described but never done it before. "I've needed to leave here since the start. I've needed, needed to be with my sweetheart. But I couldn't do it until it'd be helping everyone. See? I could never be evil. I only act for love."

Katy suddenly slammed a fist into her lectern, surprising us all. "Love?! You act for… how can you say that?! You don't know what love is, if you could hurt Emily like that!"

Juliet looked at her, bloody froth at the corner of her mouth. "I learned about love tonight. Emily taught me. I told her I would let her go if she kissed me." I genuinely thought I couldn't be hurt any more, but I suddenly couldn't breathe after hearing Juliet say that.

"What was that quote from that romantic book I read once?" Juliet continued, swooning. "'You learn so much about love from a girl's first, pure kiss. You learn the path of her heart, the cinnamon-sweet promise of her innocence.'" She leered at Katy. "Have you read that book? I can't quite remember who wrote it. Such a beautiful, beautiful line."

Juliet suddenly opened her blue eyes widely, affecting a terrified, meek expression. "I'll do more, if you want," she bleated with a perfect English accent. "I'll do anything. I'll let you…"

"Enough!" Earl suddenly barked, face pale as chalk. "Enough, Teufel!"

"Burn her up!" Barrett exclaimed, not nearly as loudly as before. "Seriously, fucking burn her now!"

Juliet just laughed; it was exactly the same as her usual laugh, trippingly light and cheerful. I felt dizzy.

"What the hell are you laughing about?" JP yelled at her. "You're going to get executed!"

She shook her head. "No, I won't. I trust the people here. They believe in love. They wouldn't let me be apart from my sweetheart. I trust you all." She smiled up at Monokuma. "May we vote?"

"Why, absolutely!" Monokuma yipped with glee. "If you're all ready, then we'll vote right now!" I wanted to reach out, to yell, to stop this whole horrible night, but I couldn't move, I couldn't do anything but gape. "Just press the button on…"

A horrible, hacking sound interrupted him. Jane was gagging, and her entire upper body, hair, eyes, and skin, was a shifting array of lines and patterns. She spasmed for a moment, then suddenly collapsed onto her knees. She retched, and an enormous amount of light blue liquid spilled out of her mouth onto the floor.

"Agg, what the hell!" Bepi yelled.

The patterns on Jane's body drained from her body like she was vomiting them out. After a surprisingly long time, the liquid stopped coming out. She perched on her hands and knees, breathing deeply, looking as normal as she ever looked. Thankfully, the blue liquid appeared to have no odor.

"What the hell is that stuff?!" JP asked, looking terrified of it.

"It's hydrogen peroxide," Jane answered shakily. "And water. It's what my body makes when… ugh." She rocked back onto her knees and put a hand to her forehead. "Who," she grunted, "the _fuck_ gave me alcohol? Why did…" She looked around, realizing where we were. "…What? What happened? Did…"

And then her eyes fell upon Emily's portrait, that X constellation over her softly smiling face. She just stared in shock.

Rodrigo looked so sad. "Friend Edwards…"

"Who." Jane's voice was quiet, but it filled the whole room. She struggled up to her feet. "Who! Who who who who?!"

"Juliet!" JP squeaked.

Jane's gaze whipped to Juliet, who smiled primly back to her. "How?"

"She stabbed her," Rocky said. "In the hea…"

"No!" Jane's head whipped around to him, then swept the whole room. "How do you _know_? How did you figure it out?!"

"We were just about to vote," Juliet began, but Jane pointed a finger at her like a gunshot.

"You shut up! How can I be sure it was her?"

"Um, we caught her in a lie," JP answered, looking as if he didn't know which person in the circle to be most terrified of. "She said she was captured and gagged the whole time, but she took a video, and on the video she talked. So she had to be lying about being gagged!"

Jane stared at him. JP blanched. "Um. Because you can't talk then you're gagged?"

"I know that, fuckboy," Jane growled. She glared at Juliet, sizing her up like she was prey. "You're saying this bitch captured Emily and k…killed her. And you know because she lied about being gagged? She specifically fucking said she was gagged the whole time?"

I still felt stunned by Juliet, but Jane's rage began to give me energy. "Yes," I croaked. "That was the evidence."

Jane shook her head, chuckling darkly. "You fucking idiots," she muttered. "What is wrong with you all?!" She pointed at Juliet, who, I realized, had literally not moved for at least a full minute. "Emily was smart. You hear me? She was a fucking genius! And you're saying this bimbo was smart enough to get her but dumb enough to make a mistake like that?!"

Juliet laughed. "I didn't have to be smart. I…"

"Fuck you!" Jane screeched. She threw her hands up in the air in exasperation. "Are you people fucking kidding me? She goes out of her way to say she was gagged the whole time, but she took a video of herself talking and just left it lying around?!"

"Wait," Earl said, putting a hand up. "Please, Edwards, be slower. Are you suggesting Mountebank is deliberately criminaling herself?"

"You won't vote for me," Juliet spoke up.

"Shut up!"

"Love is bigger than you!" Juliet yelled back, mania tinging her voice. "I tortured your little bitch sidekick for love, and I'd do it again! I cut her over and over, I heard her call out for help from God, from her mother, from Rodrigo. But I never heard her say your name." She grinned at Jane. "When you were gone, she just forgot about you; she didn't even die wishing you'd save her, because she didn't think about you at all."

Jane's mouth fell open, but I decided to seize the opportunity. "She's still doing it!" I yelped. "Listen, everyone. Her behavior in this trial hasn't made sense, if she was guilty. It's as if she's trying to make us vote for her. She'll say whatever horrible things she has to say in order to make us so furious, we stop thinking about this case."

I glared at her, but I kept talking without giving her a chance to jump in. "I'm sure she'll say something awful to me in a second. But that's why you took the videos, right? That's why you made up such a horrible, fake ritual. You were vicious and cruel to someone innocent and good, and you made sure we knew everything you did. You were trying to make us vote for you."

In a blindingly flash motion, Juliet leaped forward across the circle to perch atop my lectern. All I heard was a snarl and a whoosh; before I knew what was happening, she was clawing at my eyes, hissing like an animal.

"Waaugh, holy shit!" Monokuma's voice rang out, and chains quickly descended from the ceiling, hooked around her arms, and pulled her away. She hung there in the middle of the circle, staring at me, expression suddenly blank.

"None of that!" Monokuma yelled sternly. "Miss Mountebank, I'm surprised at you! You're usually such a model student."

"This is all completely nuts," Nicole muttered. "Why would Juliet want us to vote for her, if she wasn't the killer? If we do, someone else goes free and she dies, right? Even if she helped?"

"Correct!" Monokuma confirmed, shaking his paw at Juliet. "A fact you all should know!"

"But who would do that?!" Nicole asked. "No one would just, 'Oh here, you murder this chick and I'll just be over here getting executed.'"

"The Ultimate Girlfriend would," Ashley said. There was a pause as she looked suspiciously around the room. "For her sweetheart."

We looked around at each other; a chill going through the room. "Could one of us have been her sweetheart all along?" Katy asked.

Earl stamped his foot. "Please, colleagues. For the sake of we who… who are struggling to stay on top of things. What are you saying?"

Rodrigo raised his hand. "I believe… I believe the idea is that Juliet captured Friend Voss, tortured her, and acting self-incriminatingly during this trial, but someone else actually acted to cause her death."

"Mountebank arranged the murder, but did not commit it?" Earl frowned. "How can we be certain? Is there Beweis?"

"There is a lot of circumstantial evidence," I replied. "This explains a whole lot of confusing things about this murder. There were strange aspects that seemed to be deliberately providing us information."

* * *

 ** _FACT 6: DRUM MACHINE_** _  
 _The drum machine in Rocky's studio has been on for about an hour and a half. He insists it was off when he left before the party.__

* * *

"Like, why was the drum machine on? Why turn something on that not only tells us when the killer got to the studio, but also times everything that happened?"

* * *

 _But, as the image panned over away from the mask to show Emily, I noticed something. As it turned, it moved across Rocky's control panel, and, although it took me a couple of tries, I paused it at the right moment. There was a clear image of the bar counter. It read 344. Doing some quick math, that was about 10 minutes._

* * *

 _"_ It's an incredibly stupid mistake, if it's an accident," I said. "But what if it was on purpose? What if the point was to give the real killer an alibi? While Juliet was filming that first video, we were all at the party."

"Yo, maybe we're giving her too much credit?" Nicole offered. "She's psycho, apparently, but that doesn't mean she's not dumb."

Lucina waved her hands around. When she caught everyone's attention, she made an X motion across her torso.

"That's not quite right, Friend Sorenson," Rodrigo said. "You're supposed to start at your forehead and go vertically. Keep practicing; you'll get it!"

"Uh, no," Rocky ventured. "She means Emily. She had an X on her shirt in duct tape. Like, right over her heart, where the knife was."

* * *

 ** _FACT 3: STAB WOUND_** _  
 _Emily was killed by the dagger from the Tomb in the frat house. There was an X pattern in duct tape on the front of her blouse, and she was stabbed right in the center of it.__

* * *

He paused for a moment, then gasped. "Oh! Maybe… if Juliet arranged everything, she put that X there so the real killer would have a target!"

I nodded. "The ritual document she made said the victim had to be stabbed in the heart, so she had to be sure that's what happened."

Ashley glowered. "That was the bandages too, wasn't it?"

* * *

 _ **FACT 2: EMILY'S WOUNDS.**_ _  
Emily's body is covered with wounds of various sizes which all look to have been made with a blade of some kind. Some of the larger wounds were carefully bandaged._

* * *

"You couldn't risk her bleeding to death too soon." Ashley put a hand on her chest and sighed. "I knew you were too well-nourished to be trusted."

"So many stories," Juliet mused, spinning idly on her chains. "Keep telling your stories, little children."

"This isn't just a story," I insisted. "There's evidence. Hard evidence that more than one person was directly involved in this murder."

"What?!" Nicole bellowed. "What evidence?"

I sighed. "It involves something only Rocky and I have seen. The second video Juliet took. It's… horrific. I didn't want to bring it up if I didn't have to, but…"

* * *

 _The video opened up showing a corner of the studio where nothing was happening; the camera was on the floor and pointed away from Emily. But I could hear her, crying. Juliet blubbered and moaned wordlessly._

 _I heard a footstep, and Emily's voice hitched. "P-please..." she stammered. "I-I don't ex-ex-exactly understand w-what you want, but please..." She sniffled and bawled. "I-I'm ex-ex-extremely afraid, please. Please d-don't. P-please." There was a pause. "I promise... I-I promise I w-won't ex-ex-expose y-you. I promise! Just please d-don't. D..." And then there was the sudden sound of running footsteps, a wet crunch, and a very short shriek. A moment later, Juliet's voice screamed, fading out into a moan. More footsteps, and the video abruptly ended._

* * *

Jane's mouth was a straight line across her face; she just stared at Juliet. Juliet's eyes were on me, blankly, like a mannequin.

"What does that prove?" Ashley asked.

"Nothing, on its own." I glanced up at Juliet. "But along with something Rocky mentioned a minute ago, it proves a lot."

* * *

 ** _FACT 3: STAB WOUND (revised)._** _  
 _Emily was killed by the dagger from the Tomb in the frat house. There was an X pattern in duct tape on the front of her blouse, and she was stabbed right in the center of it. The blouse was bunched up in the back, indicating someone was grabbing it and pulling it tight when she was stabbed.__

* * *

 _"_ To line the X up with Emily's heart, someone had to be holding on to her blouse and pulling back. But in the video…"

"The killer got a running start," Ashley interrupted, pale. "We heard it."

I nodded. "The only way it could go is if one person was behind Emily pulling back on her blouse, and the other person was in front, with the dagger."

There was a silence.

"Who?" JP asked.

"It could have been anyone," Ashley said in a trembling voice. "Anyone could have left the party long enough to kill her, if Juliet did everything else."

"Psst!" Nicole hissed to Barrett. "You have any idea what the fuck is going on?"

"Gonna burn the girlfriend, I think," Barrett stage-whispered back.

"No, we're not," Katy snapped. She was crying again; I wondered how she possibly could keep feeling so much after a night like tonight. "We're gonna kill someone else." She sniffled and looked up at us all hopelessly. "Emily's dead and someone killed her, and Juliet just…" She watched the ultimate girlfriend just swing from her chains, humming tunelessly. "…if this is who she really is, then she doesn't even know. She's just crazy, and she doesn't even know what she did wrong, and someone else is gonna die and Juliet will stay alive it's all just stupid and pointless."

She suddenly collapsed to her knees, holding on to her lectern to keep from falling all the way onto the floor. "Someone… whoever figured it out, just tell us who. Just end this, please, I just want to sleep. I can't do this anymore."

We all looked around at one another. I noticed Bepi, Lucina, and (hm) Ashley looking especially at me, but I was helpless. I didn't know. This was as far as I'd gotten.

I realized Juliet wasn't humming tunelessly; she was humming "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star."

We all just looked around at one another, drooping and drunk and baffled. I had no idea what to do.

"Borrrriinnnnnng," Monokuma warbled. "If you're done discussing things, it's time to vote!"

"Wait, madman!" Rodrigo protested. "We don't know who to vote for yet!"

"You look pretty stuck to me," Monokuma remarked. "Looks like you'll have to just do your best! Ready?"

I don't know why, but as he laughed, I found myself looking at Emily's portrait, at her adorable smile and intelligent eyes. That horrible constellation was splashed across her face, but SHE was still visible, looking just like she did when she was alive.

My mouth fell open.

"All right, kiddos, time to…"

"Wait!" I exclaimed. "I know who did it!"

Everyone turned to me in shock, Juliet included. "How?!" Earl bellowed.

"Because she told us." My voice was tinged with something like awe. "Because Emily told us."


	20. History of Hellenistic Art II: Part G

Everyone just stared at me from their places around the circle, but Monokuma clapped his paws and jumped up and down in glee. "What drama! Very well, you may continue the trial, but it's well past this old bear's bedtime, so get a move on!"

Rocky waved his hands around in confusion. "What do you mean, 'Emily told us?'" Is it..." He trailed off, then pointed at Jane. "There really are ghosts! Emily's a ghost and Saya's a spirit medium!"

"Oh, fuck!" Bepi yelped, ducking his head for some reason.

"I am trained to exorcise spirits from beyond the grave," Rodrigo offered.

"Ghosts!" JP screeched.

Ashley slammed her hand into her podium over and over; it made a surprisingly loud slapping sound. "Shut up!" she yelled, louder than I thought her tiny body would be capable of. "Christ, you all are idiots. Who's not an idiot? Is anyone not an idiot?"

"I'm an idiot," Juliet offered, twirling aimlessly in her chains.

"God, shut up," Jane said, sounding more tired than angry by this point. "I volunteer as not an idiot. Saya should explain."

"I second the motion!" Ashley agreed. "All in favor?"

"Aye!" Ashley, Jane, and for some reason Nicole all said in unison.

"Motion passes!" Ashley yipped, "please continue!"

I tried not to think about if she was just making it all up as she went along. "Um. Okay. So, I think..."

"Aye!" Bepi said. We all stared at him in confusion. He looked around proudly, oblivious.

"Uh, so... anyway..." I continued as smoothly as I could, "I think I just put a lot together in my head about the case, so let's take a couple of steps back. Do we all agree the most likely story here is that Juliet acted as an accomplice for her sweetheart?"

"Uh, I guess so," Nicole said. "It makes more sense than anything else. But this means one of us has been her, like, high school boyfriend this whole time?" She shuddered. "Goddamn, how psycho must he be?"

"But who could it be?" Earl asked.

"It's certainly not JP," Rodrigo said. "Because she attempted to frame him for the crime, yes?"

Earl nodded. "And our friend the DJ is psychologically and biologically ineligible!"

"If he's really gay..." Ashley mused.

"Dude, I will make out with Rodrigo right now!" Rocky argued.

Rodrigo took a step back, but after a moment stood straight again. "If it must be to determine the truth of this horrible murder, so be it."

"I... don't think that's necessary," I interrupted, trying to ignore Nicole's disappointed glare. "Let's just assume for now Rocky's telling the truth. That leaves Rodrigo, Bepi, Earl, and Barrett."

"But which one?" Rocky asked.

Jane glared at each of them in turn. "Whoever he is, he's smart," she remarked. "If he helped design this plan, he must be."

Barrett sneered. "I suspect the officer," he snorted, looking at Earl. "Plan took timing, right? Coordination. That's right up his fucking alley."

"Earl is not Juliet's secret boyfriend," Ashley snapped.

"Oh, just fuck him already and shut up," Nicole said, rolling her eyes.

"I beg your pardon!? I..."

"Um, everyone?" I interrupted. "Please, let's focus." Nicole made a suggestive gesture at Ashley, who was thankfully composed enough to ignore it. "I was thinking about what you just said, Barrett. About coordination. Why do you think the plan required that? Unless we're misunderstanding things a lot, Juliet pretty much did everything. She captured Emily and restrained her, tortured her, arranged the way she died, created and planted fake evidence... what did the sweetheart even need to do?"

"Oi, he had to sneak out past everyone, right?" Barrett pointed out.

"Oh, but my goodness!" Juliet suddenly burst out. "It's just impossible to sneak out of the party without going past everyone, and the front door is the only way out! Oh dear, I'm not quite smart enough to figure this out; someone help! I like chess."

She grinned, leering at me. Bepi and Lucina looked very uncomfortable, and I almost lost my track.

I sighed. "Secret passage. Right? Everyone knows about the secret passage? It wouldn't be difficult to sneak out of the kitchen most of the time?"

* * *

 ** _FACT 15: SECRET PASSAGE_**  
 _According to Bepi, most people knew about the secret passage leading from the kitchen to the bedroom. He's not sure exactly who JP told, but at a minimum it was Bepi, Earl, Rocky, and Jane._

* * *

Everyone nodded. Juliet had a sickening parody of pride on her face and I decided to just keep going. "So, the sweetheart would have a way to sneak out of the party and back, but I don't think they panned ahead of time when and where to go." I closed my eyes and took a deep breath: this was my big leap. "In fact... I think it's possible he didn't even know anything about this at all."

There was a minor outcry, and Ashley slapped her lectern again to get order. "I don't know this for sure," I explained. "But there's evidence at the party that suggests it. Lucina found it; it was too subtle for me to see." She blushed, which I did my best to ignore. "In the freezer, frozen to the floor, there was what looked like the remnants of a note."

* * *

 ** _FACT 17: PAPERS IN FREEZER_**  
 _There were pieces of torn paper in the freezer, saying SIC STUD and LIET._

* * *

Jane frowned. "'liet' is Juliet, of course, but sic stud?"

Earl laughed. "Perhaps the note was about myself! I am a sic stud!"

"I... think it's the middle part of another phrase," I said quickly. "One that's very important to this case."

"Jurassic Studmuffin?" Bepi offered.

I blinked at him. "Why would..."

"Classic Studebaker!" JP yelled.

"Intrinsic Study hall!" Nicole added.

"Anaphasic Studfishes!" Monokuma chimed in.

"'Music studio,'" Jane said, thankfully putting an end to that nonsense. "The note was telling the boyfriend where to go."

"This is pathetic!" Juliet snapped. "My sweetheart is the smartest person in the world! He planned this all out himself; I just did everything he told me to do, step by step!"

"She's lying," I said, avoiding looking at her. "Juliet wrote her name and a little heart symbol. If this was something the two of them planned together, why would she bother to leave her name? That doesn't incriminate her, like some of the other evidence. It just muddies the story she's trying to tell."

"Girlfriends don't do anything on their own!" she snarled.

I kept ignoring her, but it was getting more difficult. "I don't think her accomplice even knew a murder was supposed to happen tonight."

"You wouldn't understand, Saya, you've spent your whole disgusting life trying to be a man." She glared at me, her blood-encrusted hair spilling down over her face. "Fucking Lucina won't turn you into the son he wanted. It can't change nature. You'll always be weak, sad, little... you."

Now that she had finally made her attack, I felt more pity than anything else. She was just... pathetic. Just obsessed and miserable and afraid. It felt stupid to even respond.

"Anyway, I think we can assume Juliet planned this on her own," I continued. "So her challenge was to communicate the details to her sweetheart without anyone else finding out. To accomplish this, she went into the freezer before the party to leave her accomplice a note," I said.

* * *

 _ **FACT 19: PRE-PARTY EVENTS**_  
 _In the time just before the party, Rocky was setting his equipment up. JP, Ashley, Juliet, and Earl were also there for at least a few minutes._

* * *

"...and something else happened in the freezer, too." I glanced down at the blue liquid on the floor. "Something, uh, we saw evidence of pretty clearly in here. Jane said she couldn't drink

alcohol because 'unpredictable' things would happen, and, well..."

* * *

 _ **FACT 9: JANE'S CONDITION  
** Jane has been acting bizarrely, and she now has stripes. She again mentioned seeing a ghost, but she also is likely hallucinating._

* * *

"Ugh," Jane muttered. "Was I rapping? Wait. Don't tell me, I don't want to know." She sighed. "JP, you fucker, you said my beer would be non-alcoholic."

"It was!" JP defended. "I showed you myself, remember?"

"Kegs were just labeled with sticky notes," Bepi said. "Woulda been easy to switch 'em."

Rodrigo frowned. "So... foul demon Mountebank goes into the freezer, leaves a note for her paramour, and also swaps friend Edwards's label with another keg?"

I nodded. "Yeah. I think so."

"But why?" Jane asked. "Why get me drunk?"

I glanced at Juliet, who was expressionless, and then back to Jane. "Well, I've been thinking about that. And maybe the point wasn't getting you drunk. Maybe the point was making sure your keg was being used by someone else. You got switched to real beer, but that was just a side effect."

Ashley clenched a fist. "Of course. If she needed to get a message to someone during the party without giving herself away, the best thing to do would be to leave a note in a place she knew he would look."

"Gragh, what are any of you even talking about?!" Barrett growled.

"Think about it," I explained. "If someone got their keg switched with Jane's, what would happen?"

"Uh, they'd be drinking non-alcoholic beer," Bepi answered. "So. Um. Nothing?"

"Exactly." I smirked. "So if you're drinking your beer at the party, and you realize partway through that nothing's happening, what would you do?"

"Oh, shit," Nicole said. "You'd try to find out what was wrong with your shitty beer. You'd go to the freezer and look at the keg with your name on it..."

"Which is what we found. The label is on the bottom of the kegs, remember?"

* * *

 _ **FACT 16: PONY KEGS (revised)**_  
 _Someone removed all the name labels from each of the pony kegs. Jane's keg was tipped over onto its side._

* * *

"So the place Juliet left the note..."

"...was under Jane's keg." Ashley crossed her arms over her chest, glaring. "She switched the labels, so her accomplice would unknowingly be drinking non-alcoholic beer, and then left the note where he'd find it when he went to investigate."

"This is boring," Juliet grunted. "Professor!" she called up to Monokuma. "This is boring! Saya delayed your vote with a biiiiig dramatic announcement, but then she changed the subject! I think she was trying to trick you."

Monokuma rubbed his chin in thought. "That's a good point," he said. "I agreed to continue this trial because you said the victim named the perpetrator. I want my grand moment! Miss Wild, you will provide my big dramatic courtroom reveal or you will stand aside and allow voting to commence!"

I noticed Juliet smirking, and I frowned. Maybe I was seeing patterns where none existed? Maybe I was just making it all up? But just past her, across the circle, I glimpsed Lucina. She looked... confident. I realized she trusted me.

I took a deep breath. "All right. I did say that Emily herself directed us to her killer, and she did. Emily was..." I paused for a moment, sadness almost crashing through, but I swallowed it down. "...She was very, very smart, and I think the killers underestimated her. Because in her last words, with her murderer literally staring her in the face, she found a way to tell us who they were."

* * *

 _I heard a footstep, and Emily's voice hitched. "P-please..." she stammered. "I-I don't ex-ex-exactly understand w-what you want, but please..." She sniffled and bawled. "I-I'm ex-ex-extremely afraid, please. Please d-don't. P-please." There was a pause. "I promise... I-I promise I w-won't ex-ex-expose y-you. I promise! Just please d-don't. D..." And then there was the sudden sound of running footsteps, a wet crunch, and a very short shriek. A moment later, Juliet's voice screamed, fading out into a moan._

* * *

I expected someone to get it, but only blank faces looked back at me. "Wait, that's it?" Rocky asked. "She didn't say anything there."

"Yes, she did," I insisted. "Think about it; that's a weird way to talk for someone who's been tortured and who's being threatened with a knife. 'I won't expose you?' 'I'm extremely afraid?' It makes sense she'd say those ideas, but the particular words she's using are... odd."

Jane got it. She stared directly at the killer, eyes cold.

"She says it three times," I continued. "A neon sign, pointing directly at her killer. And he didn't even notice."

Ashley got it, too. She placed her hands on her lectern and took a deep breath. "Ex-ex-exactly. Ex-ex-extremely. Ex-ex-expose. X X X."

Bepi blinked at me blearily. "Um, X X X? So... um, what? I don't get it."

"In the Greek alphabet, do you know which letter happens to look just like an X?" Jane asked, her eyes still not moving from the killer. "Chi."

"X X X," I said. "Chi Chi Chi."

JP was already so covered in sweat, his salmon-covered Polo was hugging his body. "Dudes..." he rasped, but that seemed to be all he could say.

"Wait, this doesn't make sense!" Katy argued. "Juliet tried to frame JP! Why would she do that if he's really the killer?"

"Because she's smart," Ashley answered darkly. "When we figured out the evidence was fake, we dismissed him as a suspect. Which was exactly what she wanted us to do."

Juliet spun lazily in the chains. "You're all just going to get killed," she said, but the spark was gone from her voice.

"Dudes," JP said again, "this isn't... this isn't true."

"We know the killer didn't figure out until later in the party that his beer was non-alcoholic," I interrupted. "Because Jane's keg didn't get tipped over until late. So the killer had to be drinking the same kind of beer as Jane's. And only one person fits that description."

* * *

 _"I don't think this could have fallen by accident," I said. I squatted down over the upset one and looked at the base. That label was still there. It had some German words I didn't understand and then "Non-alcoholic pale ale. Guaranteed high quality!"_

* * *

 _JP strolled up to us, raising a fresh glass of his pale ale in greeting. "My friends! Everything good? Everything safe?"_

* * *

"And JP even commented on things being weird."

* * *

 _JP shook his head. "Man, I dunno what it is, but this party just isn't as lit as it should be. I'm just not feeling it like I should! You know?"_

* * *

JP was speechless, shivering. Juliet struggled with her chains for a moment, then relaxed again. "This isn't proof," she snapped. "You don't know, this is all just aprophenia, you're just..."

"There is proof," I stated. "Something I noticed at the time, but I didn't realize it was important until now." I could not help but give her a slight smirk. "Your unnecessarily complicated false ritual involved both of the daggers from the frat house."

* * *

 _First, it is necessary to create a slit in the chest of the Simulacrum by stabbing it with the bladed dagger. Then, place the imitation dagger into the wound. The Scapegoat must later be killed with the bladed dagger by piercing the heart. Therefore, at the end of the ritual, the Simulacrum and Scapegoat will have matching wounds: a real dagger in a real chest, and an imitation dagger in an imitation chest._

* * *

"When I saw the mannequin you'd planted on the altar, I knew the dagger in its chest was fake, because I'd been to the music studio and seen Emily. But anyone who hadn't been there? The reasonable assumption is, it's the real dagger. And JP?" I looked at him coldly. "You shouldn't have known about the other dagger."

* * *

 _"Saya," JP nearly implored. "Is Emily really dead? Ashley wouldn't give us any details, but this has to be a mix-up, right?"_

* * *

"...And you, of all people, knew to be careful with the real dagger."

* * *

 _We must have looked pretty skeptical, so he frustratedly reached out for the daggers. "No, look, here's how it-OW!" He pulled his hand back; a small bead of red appearing on his fingertip. "Goddamn, that's sharp." He more carefully reached out and took the daggers._

* * *

"...But tonight?"

* * *

 _"Oh, goddamn it!" JP swore, taking in the sight before him. "Why is all this creepy shit happening to me?" He walked up to the mannequin and just waved his arms at it. "This is... who the fuck would do this?!" He grabbed the imitation dagger by the blade, bracing against the hilt, and yanked it out of the mannequin's chest; it made an awful squicking sound as it emerged._

* * *

"...You knew you could pull it out by the blade, because you knew where the real dagger was. You knew better than anyone."

JP was frozen, sweat almost visibly pouring down his face. He stammered something, but couldn't get any words out. Juliet struggled in her chains again, manic anger on her face, but I was past the point of being scared of her.

I looked around the circle: my drunk classmates looked confused and sickened, but I didn't perceive any real resistance. "Saya," Rodrigo said. "So we can be sure, and all of us can understand, could you sum up the timeline of this murder?"

I nodded. I had a very clear picture of it.

* * *

This murder is unusual, because the killer wasn't involved in most of the planning. Instead, the plan was Juliet's, and she acted to free the killer, who apparently has been her secret boyfriend this entire time.

Before the party, Juliet went to the walk-in freezer and switched the name post-its for Jane and the killer. Then she left a note to the killer under the non-alcoholic beer keg telling him to go to the music studio. On her way out, she must have stolen the ritual daggers from their place above the altar.

Back at the dorm, she helped Emily get ready for the party as if things were normal, but on the way to the party, she attacked and incapacitated her. She brought her to the music studio, where she... tortured Emily with the bladed dagger. She planted evidence of the ritual she'd made up, to 'frame' JP, and she left videos, to trick us by deliberately incriminating herself.

Meanwhile, the killer realized they weren't getting drunk and checked on their beer keg. Under the keg, they saw a note Juliet had left, directing them to go to the music studio. The killer slipped out of the frat house through the secret passage in the kitchen, made it to the studio, and, with Juliet's help, stabbed Emily in the heart. The killer then returned to the party as if nothing had happened, only being gone for a couple of minutes. To cover their tracks, they went to the freezer and removed all the name labels from the beer kegs, and they tried to remove Juliet's note too, but it was partly frozen to the floor.

Meanwhile, Juliet turned the costume she'd made inside-out and carried the mannequin to the side part of the frat house; Jane glimpsed her out the window as she did. Juliet planted evidence, including the mannequin, to incriminate JP, but did so obviously, hoping we'd see through it so we would dismiss him as a suspect. Then, she just sat against the wall and waited for someone to find her.

Despite Juliet's complicated plan, there were pieces of evidence indicating the real killer, including Emily's last words. Even though she was being tortured and afraid, she was able to help us find justice for her murder by leaving a coded message as to her killer's identity. Based on all of this evidence, it's clear who the killer is: **JP Laettner, the Ultimate Fraternity Brother!**

* * *

JP just looked frozen and confused. He kept opening and closing his mouth, but he seemed unable to find any words.

"It's time for us to vote," Jane said. "Yes? Voting time?"

"It is indeed!" Monokuma cheered. "Select the person on your podium who you believe is the killer! I hope you're not wrong..."

"No!" Juliet howled, struggling vainly against the chains. She kept shrieking, but she mostly just looked pathetic.

"Mr Diaz!" Monokuma called down to Rodrigo. "Would you be so kind as to reach over and cast a vote on Miss Mountebank's behalf? It won't do to have anyone abstaining!"

Rodrigo leaned over to Juliet's lectern. "Who do I..."

"Oh, just vote for the fratboy, it doesn't matter," Monokuma said breezily.

As the votes rang up, a screen opened up in the shelves, displaying JP's name in bright, colorful letters. Juliet's wails died down into a hopeless moan.

"Aha, you've all indeed voted for Mr. Laettner!" Monokuma said brightly. "And you're absolutely correct! He did commit this foul murder."

Jane's glare was murderous, but JP just looked at Emily's portrait, eyes wide and bewildered. "It's okay, honey," Juliet babbled. "I won't let them hurt you..."

"How could you do it?" Katy creakily asked him. "How could you kill her like that?"

JP kept staring at Emily's smiling face. "How could you be so cruel?!" Katy continued, voice rising in pitch and volume. "She was a wonderful, wonderful person! Did you always plan something like this?! Is that why you never told us Juliet was your girlfriend?!"

JP suddenly emitted a choking sound and turned to Katy, frantic hopelessness stretched across his face. "...Tell you?" he rasped. "Tell you _what_?!" He pointed at Juliet, tears beginning to flow. "I don't know this chick! I just met her when we all came here!"

"Honey, I love you so much, I love you..." Juliet kept cooing.

JP covered his ears. "Gaaugh, stop it, stop it! You're fucking crazy!"

"Wait," Barrett said. "You ain't this bird's 'sweetheart?'"

"I don't..." JP pressed his hands against his face, like he was trying to crush his own skull. "She called me that, but..."

"I'm confused," Earl stated. "If you aren't her Freund, why did you meet her in secret?"

"Because she said she'd fuck me!" JP spat. "That's what the note said! It said go to the music studio and... but when I got there, there was blood everywhere, and she just handed me this knife and costume and told me she would take care of everything! I didn't know Emily would be there! I didn't..."

"Yo, fuck this," Nicole sneered. "You still stabbed her on purpose."

"I couldn't feel anything; I couldn't think," JP moaned. "I just... she was telling me to do it, and she was telling me everything would be okay, and..."

"Everything I've done is for you," Juliet cooed. "I can't do anything for myself..."

"Shut up, shut up!" JP wailed, crouching and covering up his head, like he was in some sort of bombing drill. "Stop it! Stop stop stop!"

"See kiddos, this is why communication is important in relationships," Monokuma said, a touch of glee in his voice. "Well, enough stalling! It's time for our execution!"

Juliet screamed wordlessly, but JP didn't move; he just huddled behind his lectern. Monokuma slapped a button next to him, and the floor suddenly opened up under JP; he disappeared into the blackness and was gone. The screen on the wall flickered again to life, showing us... the execution. I didn't want to look, but I had to, I just couldn't stop myself.

* * *

 _BEARS WILL BE BEARS_  
 _the execution of JP LAETTNER_

 _A spotlight came up on JP, his hands and legs tied together, spread out crosswise over a table. His pants were down; his naked butt thankfully pointed away from the screen, and two Monokumas stood nearby. One rubbed its paws together in glee; the other held a large paddle. With vicious glee, the second Monokuma reared back and whacked JP in the rear end with the paddle._

 _Nothing happened; the strike was so weak, it barely even made a sound. The Monokuma looked at the paddle with confusion, than tried again. Then again and again and again... nothing happened at all._

 _The other Monokuma raised a claw, as if getting a sudden idea. It wandered into the darkness and came back with an enormous jug of clear liquid. There was a label on the jug that just said "10,000 proof." It forced the lip of the jug into JP's mouth and poured; despite his choking and sputtering, the liquid began to empty down his throat. When that bottle finished, the Monokuma, as if in fast-motion, ran back and forth, collecting jugs, pouring them into JP's mouth, and repeating. JP's body began to impossibly inflate, like he was a tick filling up with blood. His skin grew tight and his body began to slosh and wobble like a water balloon._

 _Satisfied, the jug-Monokuma nodded to the other one, who reared back with his paddle, lined up his swing... and then struck. JP's body... well, I'm grateful to say I couldn't see very well what happened to it, but there was a bursting sound and both Monokuma's, and the whole room, ended up covered with blood and alcohol. They looked at one another and simultaneously held up two claws, then three, then two._

 _The next images were fast and confusing, like a montage. The two Monokumas, sitting glumly, while police-Monokumas milled around the room searching for evidence. An older-looking, male and female Monokuma standing next to one of the blood-covered ones, angrily shouting at a TV camera. Both of the blood-covered Monokumas, now wearing little suits, filing into a courtroom._

 _And then finally, a judge-Monokuma (wig and everything) sitting over them, pointing down sternly. He shook his little fist, monologuing and lecturing... then suddenly spread out his arms. The words NOT GUILTY appeared behind him in flashing letters. The blood-covered Monokumas celebrated, and behind them, the judge held up two claws, then three, then two._

* * *

Even as the horror on the screen played out, I found myself looking over at Juliet. When JP disappeared, she had howled and wailed and struggled, but almost immediately after the execution began, she fell completely silent. I glanced at her; her face was blank. She just watched.

The screen cut off, and the chains holding Juliet suddenly released her. She landed in a squat, hands flat on the floor, still. "This is what you get when you stay up at all hours of the night!" Monokuma ranted. "If you went to bed early, like good, disciplined adults, you wouldn't get into situations like this! You all think about that."

None of us were even listening; we just stared at Juliet there, in the middle of the room, not moving.

Then, slowly, she lifted herself up into a standing position. Her blood-encrusted hair draped in front of her face for a moment, making her look like a grotesque monster, but she flicked her head back and her hair settled back into its proper place. She was smiling.

"Oh, well!" she said brightly. "Like mom always told me: there's plenty of fish in the sea!"

"What," Jane said, "the fuck."

Juliet winked at her. "Well, I can't let myself get hung up on one guy! These college boys are so immature anyway, right?"

"Oh my god," Katy breathed, staring at her in horror. "You... you did all this, and you didn't even care about JP at all?"

Juliet laughed cheerfully. "Oh, of course I did! I loved him! But there comes a time to move on. I'm kind of a... what's the term? Serial monogamist."

"Uh, more like a serial killer," Nicole grunted.

"Actually, that's a common mistake," Monokuma pointed out. "A serial killer murders a whole bunch of people at one time. She kills small numbers of people across a long period of time, so she's a _mass murderer_."

"Not that this is the point," Bepi said, "but that's exactly backwards."

"Oh." Monokuma rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. "Well, okay then! She's a serial killer, yes."

"Wait, seriously?!" Barrett glared at her like she was a snake ready to strike. "She's seriously a fucking serial fucking killer?!"

"I'll do anything to help my sweethearts," Juliet declared primly. "Sometimes, yes, there's... another finalist for the scholarship, or a mean teacher, or a rival for the heart of the prom queen, and I have to... to do something. And sometimes my sweethearts don't appreciate it, but that's okay." She nodded firmly. "As long as I'm acting to help a man who needs me, as long as I'm acting for love, I'm happy."

"What are we going to do?" Rocky asked, sounding legitimately baffled. "How can we be safe with... her?"

Suddenly, the lights started flickering. I looked up to see Monokuma flicking a switch on the wall up and down rapidly. "Hey, assholes, trial's over! Some of us have to get to bed! You don't have to go home, but you can't stay here!" Juliet grinned and walked toward the elevator. We all followed hesitantly. "Shoo," Monokuma hissed. "Shoo, shoo!"

 **ELEVATOR**

We stood in a wide circle, hugging the edges of the elevator. Juliet stood in the middle, arms clasped behind her back, humming softly. I don't think anyone knew what we could possibly say.

"I can't believe how smart you guys are, to figure out my whole plan!" Juliet gushed. She chuckled to herself. "I guess it's silly, still acting all harmless when I've already given myself away, but I just can't help it! It's a habit."

And then Katy ran over and punched her in the stomach.

Juliet doubled over, wheezing. "You monster!" Katy screeched, tears streaming down her face. "You monster! How could you..." The energy sapped away from her, and she slowly deflated. "How could you..." Lucina walked to her, and Katy fell into her arms.

"We must find a way to contain her," Rodrigo said grimly. "I fear she'll continue to do evil for the rest of her life."

"NO!" Still clutching her stomach, Juliet reared back and stared at him with manic eyes. "No, I do _not_ do evil." She looked around at everyone, pointing at us with a shaking hand. "I am a monster, yes. I know. All I ever want is to be cruel and to hurt and to kill and to ruin. My entire life,... corruption and iniquity has been with me, inside me. I'm a monster." She took a breath, composing herself, and her expression became calm again. "But I _never_ do evil. Because everything I do is for love, and love can never be evil."

She looked at me with a serene smile. "Perhaps you were right, Saya. Perhaps the ritual I made was unnecessarily complicated. But... but look at it from my perspective. Because of that ritual, I got to torture an innocent, sweet girl. I got to do something... delicious, and I felt my heart singing." She gestured at us as if we didn't speak English. "But don't you see? I figured out the secret! I can do good, but still be what I am... I'm a monster, but I only make the world better! That's the miracle of love!"

Earl mumbled something under his breath in German, then pointed harshly at Rodrigo. "Diaz! Hold her! If she speaks again, cover her mouth with your hand!"

The elevator dinged, and Earl marched out into the quad. "Bring her!" he barked. Rodrigo dragged her away; Ashley followed. They headed in the direction of the student union.

 **MAIN QUAD**

The rest of us walked out into the night, confused and cold and exhausted. Bepi immediately said "Good night!" and lay down right there in the grass. The rest of us were past the point of caring.

Barrett looked up at the sky, a surprisingly pensive expression on his face. He sighed. "Well, fuck," he said. "This right here was a complete failure of leadership, right?"

"Exactly what I was thinking," Nicole replied. "Think it might be time to put that plan of mine into action."

Barrett nodded. "Tomorrow."

"Fuck yeah. Sleep forever now." They walked off together toward the dorm.

I looked back at the remainder: Jane, Rocky, Katy, and... Lucina. They all looked broken.

I sighed. Without a word, I bent down and tried to pick up one of Bepi's arms; Lucina read my action and moved to pick up his other arm. He was heavy, but we managed to get him over our shoulders. Nodding my head to indicate the others should come too, we started dragging him to the dorm.

 **DORM: GIUSEPPE'S ROOM**

We managed to lug him all the way to his room and plopped him down onto his bed. No one said anything.

I sat right down on the floor and felt the carpet. It was soft enough. I fell down onto my side. Lucina looked surprised at first, but then she softened and lay down next to me. With some kind of tacit agreement, the others all lay down in various places around the room. The last thing I remember before falling asleep was the sound of a quiet sob. Someone was crying. I don't think it really mattered who.

* * *

 _Q: So, tell me about your parents.  
_ _JPL: Uh... I dunno what to say. They're fine? But I can't really say.  
Q: Why do you say that?  
_ _JPL: Everyone in my family is always telling me that things are different when I'm around. Like, I went off to camp one year, and my mom and dad almost got separated. Fights and screaming and shit. I would like stay over at a friend's house and that same night, my little brother would run away, stuff like that.  
_ _Q: Hm. Do you know why that is?  
_ _JPL: No, no one knows. Just something about me. I bring people together. When I'm gone, dude, that's when everything goes to hell._

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE:** Congratulations to thatonefireemblemfan for solving the mystery over on Discord! This was a hard one, so mega-props.  
Please leave a comment or stop by the discord if you have thoughts about chapter 3 or want more focus on particular characters!


	21. Fall Break

Once upon a time, there was a young princess who was very obedient. Every night, she studied the rules of the kingdom, the wishes of the people, and the whims of the king, and every day she strove to act exactly as she should. The laws changed quickly, and she knew if she was ever caught breaking the laws, she would surely be put to death.

A royal decree declared that princesses must dress only in rags. The princess tore up all her beautiful clothes.

A royal decree declared that princesses must be whipped daily. The princess delivered the lashes herself.

A royal decree declared that princesses must never speak foolishness. The princess prepared each utterance with study and care so as to only speak wisdom.

The princess prayed and prayed that she could be loved by the people and king as she loved them. One day, struck with courage, she went out among them. She walked through the kingdom, dressed in rags, covered in bleeding welts, afraid to speak, and they jeered her. The king saw her being jeered and was filled with furious humiliation. He ordered his soldiers to seize her and lock her away in the dungeon.

After many days and nights in her cell alone, she was dragged away to appear before the king. "You are disgusting," he said to her. "All princesses are under a curse, and we know this curse will one day be the downfall of our land."

The princess was horrified to hear this from the wise king. "I must be immediately put to death!" she insisted.

But the kind king just shook his head. "Even though you are vile and ruinous, you have been obedient to the laws and rules of the kingdom, and from that, you have proven your worth. There is one way to escape the curse. You must stop being a princess. You must grow into a queen." And he took the princess into the royal kitchens, where there was a giant cauldron in a large fireplace. He placed the princess into the cauldron and lit the fire. "You must stay here, in your new chambers," he declared.

The fire caused the cauldron to glow red, and the princess screamed in pain, but she did not disobey the king. Once a day, a small hole opened in the lid and she was given just one bean and two drops of water. Still, she did not disobey the king.

Fifteen years later, the king doused the fire and tipped over the cauldron. What spilled out was not a princess, but rather a beautiful queen, dressed in purple miniver. The king wept in his joy. The obedient queen had saved the kingdom from her own horrible curse.

* * *

Once upon a time, there was a young prince who was very churlish. The prince lived in a mighty castle, a castle which was the pride of his country and the envy of every neighboring kingdom. Because of this, there was constant war. Even as a young boy of no more than two, he was a great warrior, and he longed to join in his kingdom's war with a neighboring land.

However, the boy was such a great warrior, he slew any soldier that trained with him. Though small of stature, he bore his great war hammer with such ferocious strength, that his own army grew smaller and smaller every time he picked it up to spar.

The king and queen begged the prince to step away from the battlefield, but the lure of glory was too strong. He led battle after battle against the neighboring land, and although he was no higher than the soldiers' knees, after every battle, the only one standing was the young prince. Soon, all soldiers in both kingdoms' armies were entirely gone.

The prince knew glory was soon to come, so he climbed atop his pony and rode into the enemy kingdom. He rode directly up to the defenseless king and queen and slew them.

The prince returned to his land a great hero. The king and queen were overjoyed by his deeds, and they celebrated him with cheers and a grand feast at the castle.

However, at the feast, the prince saw the people celebrating not only him, but also the kingdom's mighty, beautiful castle, truly the finest building in the world. He knew there was one final glory still to be his.

He walked to the wall of the banquet hall, raised his war hammer, and brought it crashing down against the stone. With a thunderous crack, the castle crumbled, and no one inside was ever seen again.

An age of peace fell upon the kingdom thanks to the churlish prince's great deeds.

* * *

Once upon a time there was a young princess who was very ugly. She was such an ugly sight, old women tore out their eyes when they saw her.

She emitted such an ugly smell, children would hold their heads underwater whenever she walked past.

And most hideous of all, she made sounds that were so ugly, it drove everyone else in the kingdom mad.

She was driven off into a great, dark forest, where she lived in a hidden, sunlit glen. She ate toadstools and winterberries, and she spent her days weeping in shame and loneliness. Her glen grew more and more foul.

One day, she was startled by the sound of a great thunderclap, and who should walk out of the forest to greet her but Father Mushroom, king of the Fairies? "What is this noisome, hideous scene?" Father Mushroom complained to her. "We faer folk have allowed you to live in our forest in the spirit of neighborliness, but you have left it a terrible ruin."

"Forgive me, Father Mushroom!" the princess cried. "My stench causes even the North Wind herself to choke, so she cannot blow it hence. My foul tears poison the earth, so all that can grow are toadstools and winterberries. My horrible visage keeps all forest creatures, dryads, and gnomes from ever coming close. And the terrible sounds of my crying have twisted this once lovely glen into mandrake and soot."

Father Mushroom clutched his head in agony from the ugly princess's foul-sounding voice, but he was knowledgeable in the ways of magic and understood the princess's plight. "I see the source of this hideousness," he said. "Your body is infected with evil. Your tongue has been cursed with foul magic, and it is from your tongue that your ugliness spreads."

"Then I must pluck it out!" the princess cried, and she bravely reached into her mouth, grasped her tongue, and wrenched it from her body. She threw it on the ground of the ruined glen, and instantly, she transformed into a beautiful maid.

"Your comeliness and courage have enchanted me!" Father Mushroom told her. "Come to the kingdom of fairies and be my bride!" The princess could not speak, but Father Mushroom swept her away and into the earth to a marvelous wedding feast.

But sadly, sadly, that was not the ugly princess. The ugly princess was not the body taken away by Father Mushroom; the ugly princess was the foul tongue itself. When she tore the tongue out, she tore herself out.

She lay on the ground of the glen, shuddering and disgusting and alone, as the forest grew old. She is still there to this day.

* * *

Once upon a time there was a young princess who was very wicked. She was sweet and beautiful and loved by the people, but her heart was as black as coal.

She carried with her a journal in which she would write all her vile, vicious thoughts: the sins she would gleefully perform, the nefarious desires. One day the king and queen found the journal, and they wept in their horror and distress. They sent a request across the entire kingdom to save their daughter. Wizards, physicians, and alchemists came one after another, but none of the miracles of magic or science could cure the despicable princess. The king and queen stayed inside the castle all day and all night, and the kingdom grew cold and barren.

The wicked princess herself was desolate in her sorrow. She had not known she was evil; she lacked even the slightest twinkling of conscience that would illuminate the foulness within her. She hated her own vicious nature, and she wished only to be free of it. She was wracked with terrible visions of her future, the carnage and misery she would cause. In despair, she tried to end her life by leaping from the highest tower, by plunging herself into the moat, by hanging herself with bedsheets. But each time, her wickedness lived on.

It was the queen who finally discovered the answer. As a young princess herself, she remembered her own mother telling wonderful tales of romance, and as much as any etiquette lessons or language studies, this education prepared her for adulthood. After all, a queen cannot choose her king, but she must choose to love her king!

It was these lessons the queen passed on to the wicked princess, the great stories of love: Dido and Aeneas, Calixasase and Otto, Iris and Osiris, St. Bedevere and Lillia, Sambuck and Elisabeth. And the princess learned great wisdom from these stories. She had been trying to fight her nature like St. George battling the dragon; like a prince. But she was not a prince.

Hers were the ways of woman, and she learned she must instead redirect her nature with subtlety, grace, kindness, and prudence. Having learned this lesso-

* * *

Once upon a time, there was a young prince who was very impulsive. None could predict his behavior, and he was often carried away by some new whim or whimsy. His feet were sore from wandering; his hands calloused from striking them against trees, but he could not stop each moment from carrying him along to a new lark.

One day, he saw a pheasant in a tree, and he felt an impulse to speak. So he said, "Good morning, sir pheasant, I hope you live another day with your feathers unplucked."

And the pheasant looked back and him and said, "What for do you speak to me in such a way? It is bad enough my feathers could be plucked by any one of these miserable hunters, but a wandering rogue must remind me?"

The prince laughed and said, "I mean no offense, friend. But tell me, are the hunters really a problem for a clever bird such as yourself?"

"They torment me day and night!" the pheasant exclaimed.

"Why, then something must be done!" the prince shouted, and in a rage he raced into the wood seeking out any hunter and slaying him. By the end of the day, every hunter in the wood lay dead.

The prince returned from his task and informed the pheasant of what he had done. "A joyful day!" the pheasant cheered. "But I must tell you: I am not truly a pheasant. I am Adam Coldcloak, of the fairies. And since you have done me a service, I will remain with you."

"Why, what service can you perform for me?" the prince asked.

"I sing a sweet song," Mr. Coldcloak replied. "And my song can bring peace to any who hear it." And with that, he flew down and landed on the prince's shoulder and began to sing.

The sweet song indeed brought peace to the prince's mind, and he was no longer tormented with impulsivity. He returned home to rule his forgotten land. He became a just and wise king, and travelers from around the world came to receive his advice and to hear his pheasant's song.

* * *

Once upon a time there was a young princess who was very lonely. The king loved her and hoped for her happiness, but he was kept away from her by the harsh duties of court and ruling. The princess's grace and charm cheered the people of the kingdom, and they delighted of her presence and sang her praises at eveningtide. But they did not understand her heart, and their praise was merely cold whispers in her ears.

As a babe, the princess had been blessed with a gift for fantasy and imagination. This was her joy: She swept herself into wondrous gests and tales... but it was also her sorrow: She could never forget that a million moments span beyond the present. Even the sweet caress of a lovely maid or a praise of a tutor... moments that should have allowed her heart to sing... were dulled by the knowledge that time goes on, that happiness fades, that loneliness endures.

The king noticed his daughter's grief, and in his distress, he decided to gift her one of the great treasures of the kingdom, a golden bauble. He told her that this bauble possessed a great magic: merely by tapping it three times, a user could stretch the current moment to infinity. With this, the princess could live forever in a single second of joy.

The princess thanked her father, and she kept the bauble with her at all times. However, she noticed a curious thing: she would be awash with anticipation and excitement in the time leading up to a hoped-for moment, and she prepared her bauble. But when the moment came, the reality was a pale, listless parody of her fantasy, and she felt nothing but disappointment. Thus, the princess learned a great lesson: Anticipation is our sweet release from the loneliness and boredom of our world. Thus, she placed the bauble away.

She did not speak of it again for many years. When she was very old and lying on her deathbed, she sent a loyal servant to fetch the bauble. She realized that the anticipation of death was greater than any she had felt before.

She sent the servant away and held the bauble in her hand. When she at last felt the cold hand of death just inches away, she softly tapped the bauble three times. And she lived forever in the joyfulness of that moment.

* * *

Once upon a time, there was a young prince, who was very ambitious.

One day, while adventuring, he found a magic suit of armor. Upon donning the magic armor, he grew to the size of a giant.

"Why, with this power, I could crush all evildoers and rule the land with justice and joy!" the prince exclaimed. So he did.

* * *

Once upon a time there was a young princess who was very tenacious. Her kingdom had fallen into ruin and the land was overrun with bandits. She had been driven from her palace and lived as a shadow. She was forced to become a great warrior, and she lived in a hovel in the sere badlands; this home was humble and small for a princess, but it was a greater treasure than a grand palace could possibly be, because unlike most places in the land, her home was safe and secure. No brigand or assassin set within a league of her home without being slain by her great sword.

Over time, the princess gathered twelve orphans to live in her home under her protection. These orphans were the future of her kingdom, and she treasured them as if they were her own children. She protected them, taught them the art of war, and raised them in the cultures and rituals of their homeland.

One day, an old widow came upon the princess's hut, parched and starving. With kindness, the princess offered the crone food, water, and even the precious milk of the goat.

The old widow recovered and bowed her head to the princess. "My lady, you have shown great hospitality to an old woman like me! Your heart glows with a true nobility."

"It should," the tenacious princess replied. "For I am in fact the princess of this forsaken land. These sad orphans are all that remains of my civilized people, but I do not despair: they will be the bedrock upon which my country will be rebuilt."

The old lady was silent for a moment, then she spoke again. "I promised I would take this secret to my grave, but I am moved dearly by your plight and hope fervently for you to succeed. As a young woman, I found a great ruby in a cave; even being near it, I knew it had a great power. I can tell you the location of this cave, but you must venture forth. It is very far, and I would not survive the journey."

"But I cannot leave," the princess said. "What could befall these sad waifs without my protection?"

But one of the orphans stepped forward and with a strong conviction said, "You must go. We will be in danger while you are gone, but if you return with the jewel, it would rescue us all from this meager existence."

Thus heartened, the princess ventured forth, pledging to return as quickly as possible. For days and nights she traveled, eventually coming upon the cave described by the old woman. It was beset with gremlin traps, but with cleverness and wisdom, she dismantled and avoided them. At last, she stood before the glorious ruby, and when she picked it up, her body filled with power and vigor: she knew she could resurrect her kingdom.

But alas, when she returned to her humble shack, she found that all twelve of her precious orphans had been slain: only the sad bleating goat remained. The power of the ruby meant nothing.

And so in despair, the princess grasped the ruby and used its power to call down a great beam of light from the sky. This light destroyed her entire land, goats, brigands, and princess alike. All that remained was a barren gulch in which no crops would grow. And that is the sad story of the tenacious princess.

* * *

Once upon a time, there was a young princess who was very shrewd. Her people were great machinists and tinkerers, and in fact the entire kingdom was covered by a great machine of steam engines, cranks, valves, and levers. This machine carried out all necessary tasks for the people: sewing and reaping their harvests, raising and slaughtering their livestock, pumping their water, birthing their babes. The people lived among the machine, their houses cross-cut by its pipes and mighty gears. Every person in the kingdom worked on the machine, adding functions, expanding it out and up.

The shrewd princess had a young brother who was very sickly. He was attached to the great machine, and he would have died without its assistance. The princess loved her brother, and she wished more than anything for him to be well and strong.

Through study, she grew her knowledge of the machine to the point that she began to think like machinery herself. The world was cranks and sprockets: a predictable set of causes and effects. And it was with this mindset that she knew what she had to do. She took a wood axe and chopped off her left arm, replacing it with a stem-powered crank. She chopped off her legs, replacing them with wheels; she tore out her heart and replaced it with a spring; she sliced apart her body and replaced it with gears. Soon, she was just a head on top of a monstrous, complex apparatus.

Slowly, the mechanical automaton lurched toward her brother's chambers and stepped inside. He was, as ever, covered with tubes and wires, but his eyes grew large in fright when he saw the chimera his sister had become. Undeterred, the princess chopped off her own head and replaced it with a spherical contraption she had designed. Her body grabbed the levers of the machine above his bed and never moved again.

Miraculously, the young prince felt strength return to his body: a warm energy was flowing from the mass of gadgets his sister had become, and this energy was dispelling the sickness that had always afflicted him. He arose and detached himself from the machine for the first time.

But his wonder and joy was no match for the grief he felt from his sister's sacrifice. He wept.

Soon, though, he heard a voice grinding out from above him. "Do not despair," it said. "I have not left you. I live in this machine; I am everywhere at once. Together, we will grow our kingdom."

And it was so. The prince grew into a wise, strong king. The machine grew and grew until it covered the entire land and beyond, stretching over the sea, stretching to the heavens...

* * *

Once upon a time there was a young prince who was very insolent. He was so insolent that he was banished from his kingdom to the land of the trolls.

He worked as a slave for the seven Troll Kings: Broggaggugug, Yyi, Cxaxx, Gerrnal, Psoopsag, Akkakackack, and Tytherium. He cleaned their filthy banquet halls after their legendary feasts, and even though he was insolent, he never complained. They instructed him to spread mule-grease onto his body and slide along the gutters, and even though he was insolent, he complied. They forbade him from ever eating of the Allfruit, and even though he was insolent, he kept far away from the gardens.

It was great sport of the Troll Kings to spark the prince's insolence. They flogged him and starved him, but still he never disobeyed.

Their mirth grew to frustration and then to rage. They seized him and flung him to and fro. Gerrnal burned him with the flames of the sun; Tytherium froze him with the ice in the center of the earth, but he never disobeyed.

It was wise Yyi who realized: by never disobeying, the insolent prince was in fact being insolent! In his slyness, he knew their real desires and refused to comply. In fury, the Troll Kings grabbed an Allfruit from the garden and forced it into the mouth of the insolent prince, transforming him into a troll. They then banished him back to the land of men. He was forced to live the rest of his days, a stranger to his own people, as a result of his insolence.

* * *

Once upon a time, there was a young princess who was very peculiar. Her kingdom was one of rules, but she seemingly acted according to her own mysterious whims and without any heed at all to the dictates of the law.

The most peculiar thing about the princess, however, was that she was actually two princesses. She was a pair, alike in every way at their birth but growing more different as time went on. The first was curious, inquisitive, and kind. She loved the people, but she could not understand her proper duties. The second was dark, cruel, and sly. She hated the people, and she wished for nothing more than to be rid of her proper duties to be free to enact her cruelty.

The king had no patience for either of his princesses, and he refused to be near her. The queen was concerned for both her princesses, and she held her close so as to contain her.

One night, the royal family was at a grand banquet celebrating the bounty of the harvest. Law dictated that the princess must spread pepper on her mutton before consuming it, but she did not. "Why?" the first princess asked, because she truly did not understand. "Why?" the second princess asked, because she wished to instead use that pepper to burn and blind the people.

"Because it is your duty!" the queen answered, nervously.

"Because it is your duty!" the king would have said if he still spoke to the princess.

"Because it is your duty!" the people called, growing angry and afraid.

"But why?" the first princess asked, "it is arbitrary and pointless." "But why?" the second princess asked, "it restricts me from my ambitions."

"Because it is your duty!" the queen said, growing alarmed.

"Because it is your duty!" the king would have roared.

"Because it is your duty!" the people shrieked restlessly.

But the princess would not spread her pepper on her mutton. She simply sat, as the queen grew more agitated, as the king ignored her, as the people lashed themselves into a frenzy.

Eventually, the people grew so upset, they fell upon the princess, tearing her apart.

But the canny second princess saw this coming, so she hid behind the first princess, who was the sole victim of the mob's rage. With stunning speed, the second princess flung the pepper into the mob, burning and blinding them, and then she drew her sword and slew them all.

The queen begged for her life, but the princess ran her through. The king simply turned his back, ignoring all.

Thus, the princess took power of an empty, lifeless kingdom. She lived alone, her name a curse on the lips of all who speak it, inheritor of a ruined land. She lives to this day, bitter, old, and twisted.

But, she does not have to spread pepper on her mutton.

* * *

Once upon a time there was a pauper.


	22. Topics in Cosmology: Part A

_New Hope University School of Ultimates Campus, East Quad_

 _The east quad, a hub of constant activity, is the most recently renovated area on campus. Unlike the vernal, natural landscapes in the other quads, the east quad is paved with layers of rich marble and a mysterious, apparently indestructible metal alloy obtained directly from the United States government. Matching its rigid, austere design, this quad attracts organized, conscientious students interested in direct, concrete action!_

 _There are two buildings on the east quad:_

 _ **FULWOOD SCIENCE CENTER  
** The Fulwood Center (or "The Box" as students affectionately call it) is the home of the natural and physical sciences on campus. Its distinctive cubic shape was designed to remind students of the importance of precision and measurement, and every day, countless students learn this lesson again through careful, scientific research. The Box has labs dedicated to astronomy, physics, chemistry, biological/cellular chemistry, and engineering. Note: Due to the fast pace of technological advancement, only the ground floor and the roof of the Box are currently in use; the other four floors are filled with obsolete equipment. The university will not be held liable for any injuries students may suffer in these areas._  
 _Potential weapons: Chemicals!_

 _ **HASKINS BUILDING**_  
 _The Haskins Building is the home of one of the oldest and most prestigious organizations on campus: the ROTC! There are facilities for every kind of training, as well as for studying the history and tactics of the military. Students often wake up before dawn to make their way to Haskins Building for a grueling but rewarding day of discipline!_  
 _Potential weapons: eheheheheheheheehehehhehehehehehehehehehe_

* * *

 **DORM: GIUSEPPE'S ROOM**

I woke up slowly. The first thing I noticed was that my neck hurt; then I noticed a bizarre, growling sound that was like nothing I'd heard in nature. Then I opened my eyes, and I noticed a series of shapes that looked strange and alien. I blinked, my eyes refocusing, and I realized I was looking directly at Lucina's face. She was very close to me; I glanced down and realized she was literally as close as she could be without actually touching me. The growling noise continued.

I thought I should gently sit up, but I realized I wasn't able to, and my neck hurt more when I tried. I turned my head and realized Rocky was spooning me, his arm wrapped around my shoulder like an anaconda. I pulled at his hand, but he just squeezed tighter.

I strained against his arm, still trying to be as quiet and gentle as possible to not wake Lucina, and I managed to wriggled halfway free, but suddenly he grunted, "Fuck you!" and I felt a fist slam against my back.

It actually didn't hurt much, but is shocked me, and I shrieked. Lucina bolted upright, staring around for danger with wide eyes. Luckily, though, Rocky mumbled and rolled over onto his other side, releasing me.

I chucked embarrasedly at Lucina. "Uh, sorry." She just shook her head and very softly patted my hand.

It's not accurate to say I 'remembered,' Juliet making her loud, public reference to me "fucking Lucina," because that had been on my mind pretty much nonstop since it had happened. But I became much more aware of it. Lucina pulled her hand back.

I took stock of the room. Katy was curled up like an arctic fox on the couch, and Rocky lay sprawled next to us on the floor. Jane was nowhere to be seen.

Giuseppi lay face-up on his bed. I realized he was the source of the sound: his snores echoed through the room like what I imagine a polar bear sounds like. His one eye was wide open, staring up at the ceiling. It was really disconcerting.

"Um, want some breakfast?" I asked Lucina quietly. She nodded. We quietly got up and slipped out of the room.

 **STUDENT UNION: CAFETERIA**

Thanks to a clock we passed in the dorm lobby, we saw it was past eleven. Still, it seemed as if most of our classmates hadn't been to eat yet... tepid breakfast items still sat on the counters. We decided on some cereal and coffee.

I had my shredded wheat and was already sitting down when Lucina sat down across from me, a bright rainbow in her bowl.

"...Are those Fruity Pebbles?" I asked.

She blushed lightly and pulled out a pencil and notepad. After some quick scribbling: _I was never allowed sugary cereal at home! I've always wanted to try it._

I laughed softly. "My mom never let me have it either, but my dad used to let me have it at his place, back when I still went over there." I pointed with my spoon at the dark purple swirls in her milk. "It's fun for a novelty, I guess, but... bleh, I couldn't eat it every day."

She brought the first spoonful to her mouth, then paused thoughtfully. After a moment, she set her spoon down and picked her pencil back up. _It's very gross_ , she wrote. _I love it._

I smiled and realized it was real. Then I suddenly remembered... everything, and I stopped smiling. "You were right," I said. "What you said after the first trial was right."

She looked at me blankly for a moment.

"Uh... sorry to just jump into it," I said uncomfortably. "But I couldn't let it just keep hanging between us."

She set her spoon down and nodded at me.

"Okay," I continued. "You were right. I... feign ignorance and innocence, and it lets me manipulate people. I shouldn't have gotten mad at you for saying it."

She started writing, but I shook my head. "Wait. One second. I just want to say, I've never really thought about this part of myself. It's weird. I'm like... not confident enough to take a stand, but I'm confident enough to USE not taking a stand to control people." I sighed. "But after you confronted me, I decided I want to understand this better and own up to my behavior." I sighed. "And... look, I really don't take it well when I think people I care about are mad at me. I'm trying to get better at that, too."

She kind of just stared at me, and I noticed her cheeks were turning slightly red. She quickly jotted down a response: _It wasn't fair of me. I've always been afraid to be direct and strong, and so I wanted you to be that way. When you weren't, I got upset. Please forgive me?_

I put my hand on top of hers, literally shocking myself with my utter ballsiness. "Okay, okay, we're both sorry and we're both forgiven. Let's... try to help each other be more confident?"

Her smile was radiant. "If you're the mastermind," I said, "I will kick you in the shins so hard."

She laughed silently. She wrote something, but after tearing the page off, she hesitated showing me. She bit her lip, looking at her words pensively.

"Waaaugh!" a screech suddenly pierced the air. We whirled to see Ashley standing in the doorway, waving her arms around. She pointed at us, stomping into the cafeteria. "There, bother them!" she snapped.

"What...?" I asked, but the explanation waddled in after her, rubbing its paws together in sinister glee.

"Aha!" Monokuma bellowed. "More lazy, lazy students!" He walked up to us, pointing angrily. "You know, you can't be a productive member of society sleeping until practically noon! It's sleeping late that leads to fascism and totalitarianism!"

"Ugh, Ashley," I groaned, as she walked over to a pile of oranges, inspecting them critically. 'Why did you bring him to us?"

"I didn't exactly ask him for his company!" she grunted. "He's just been following me around all morning!"

"It's boring!" Monokuma complained. "Normally I just peep on you all, but everyone's just sleeping! I can't just sit around watching the creeping spread of neo-Marxism; it's dull!"

I sighed. "Ashley, there's got to be a way to make him go away."

"Oh, what's wrong?" Monokuma sneered. "Disappointed you can't break all the rules you want with the professor looking over your shoulder?" He chuckled. "Well, don't worry about that."

A slight crackle came from above, and then Monokuma's voice boomed out of a hidden speaker: "I'm always watching, kiddos!"

I glanced over at Ashley, who was peeling an orange with more precision than I would use to perform heart surgery, and then I glanced back at the bear. "If you're always watching, why did you act surprised when you saw us?"

"My programming involves a mimicry of social skill!" he grumbled. "And it's very rude to ask an artificial intelligence about something like that! I'd call it robophobic if that wasn't an example of the kind of horrible identity politics that's driving our country apart."

"Hold, monster!" a voice called from the doorway. We turned to see Rodrigo walking up to us purposefully. "I am no expert on modern technology, but that allows my eyes to be clear! You are no machine; you are a demon."

"A demon," Monokuma parroted mockingly. "I had high hopes for you, Mr. Diaz, but it seems you're committed to throwing away tradition just like the rest of your generation. Demons are beings of chaos, but I am a being of order! An angel!"

"Ay, a fallen angel speaking with a forked tongue," Rodrigo insisted. "I will fight to the death any who would violate the word of God or the wisdom of dogma! But I also follow the example of the great St. Thomas Aquinas, and I won't forsake my divine gift of reason to mindlessly follow any tradition!"

"You won't get anywhere following a hippie rebel like Thomas Aquinas!" Monokuma bellowed, shaking his paw at Rodrigo. "If I was less of an angel, I'd exterminate you disgusting creatures. But no, I have made rules and I abide by them."

"Your words are hollow," Rodrigo insisted.

"Rodrigo." Ashley's voice cut in as Monokuma fumed. "Don't be irreverent for its own sake." She primly dropped her orange peels in a garbage can and walked up to Monokuma. "I have faith in the system, and I trust you have something to teach us through this game," she said. "But your criticisms and insults of our generation, while correct, are getting tiresome. Don't you have anything else for us?"

Monokuma pressed his paws against his face and somehow blushed. "Yes! Oh, my contempt for you horrible students led me into unprofessionalism. Although, really, it's your fault for keeping me up all night. I'm cranky when I don't get eight good hours!" He rubbed his paws together, cackling. "Pu hu hu, I've got some very exciting educational opportunities coming up, though."

"To make us kill each other?" I asked.

"I said it was educational, didn't I?" he chortled. "Really, with death on the table, does any other kind of education really matter?" With a whirl, he disappeared.

Ashley rolled her eyes at Rodrigo. "You shouldn't dismiss everything you don't understand as a demon."

"I agree," Rodrigo stated firmly. "I only call demons demons." He crossed his arms, his head held high. "Friend Coelho, you are wiser and more learned than I, but I am trained to recognize evil."

"Ugh. How'd you get raised by Medieval monks and still end up spoiled?"

Lucina quickly held up a note for everyone to see, perhaps hoping to cut off an argument: _What does he even want? I can't understand why he would put all these resources toward something so insane!_

"He wants talented people who will follow rules, even under extreme circumstances," Ashley answered, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "He wants to train us to trust the world previous generations have made for us."

Lucina frowned and scribbled something new. _A killing game is the last thing that would make me trust that. I would never fight to defend a system containing something so horrible._

"Maybe that says something about you," Ashley replied. She turned and left the cafeteria without another word. Rodrigo, Lucina, and I glanced awkwardly at one another. It felt colder all of a sudden.

 **MAIN QUAD**

As Lucina and I left the student union, we were surprised to run into Earl, looking completely unaffected by any of the events of the previous night. "Ladies!" he enthused.

"Hi," I said as Lucina waved shyly. "You're seeming... energetic."

"Hardly!" he bellowed. "I am in fact exceedingly somber. But it is necessary for a leader to act with determination no matter the circumstances!"

Lucina held up a note: _That must be hard. We appreciate it._

"I am honored and will continue to do my best!"

I wanted to resent his enthusiasm but found myself unable. "What did you decide to do with Juliet last night?" I asked.

Earl scowled. "We imprisoned her. It's not an ideal solution, but it's the only one we could think of." He gestured behind him, across the quad. "Perfetto and I were, in fact, going to the cafeteria to get food for her. We need a third person for safety; would one of you care to come?" Bepi was indeed standing in the shade of the dorm, looking very displeased about being outdoors.

I looked at Lucina, who did not seem very happy at the idea of visiting Juliet. "I guess I'll go," I said.

Lucina widened her eyes and jotted out a quick note: _Are you sure? After she attacked you?_

I nodded. "We've got to live on this campus with her. Might as well get used to it."

"Excellent!" Earl yelled, beaming. Lucina put her hand on my shoulder and nodded to me.

"I'll see you later?" I ventured. She just smiled.

 **FRAT HOUSE: KITCHEN**

I raised an eyebrow at Earl. "You put her in the freezer?"

"It seemed appropriate to cage her in a place she engaged in skullduggery!" Earl explained. He pointed at the freezer door, chained shut with a padlock. "And it easily locks from the outside."

He went to a nearby cabinet and pulled out a box of lime jello. "The key is hidden here," he explained. "We do not expect anyone to wish to free her, but still, we hope to keep the location hidden from the demolitionist. He is unpredictable."

He paused and frowned. "Truthfully, I dislike such machinations. A leader who tricks his own soldiers is no leader at all." He glanced at the door to the freezer "Much less one who imprisons them."

I raised an eyebrow at him. "You think we should let Juliet be free after what she did?"

"No. But in an ideal world..." He took his military cap off and ran a hand through his hair. He looked troubled, even a little vulnerable. "I am a man of hierarchies and structures. I have seen the glory of the military; I know without careful leadership, specializations, and efficiency, no one could ever build a tank, much less employ it in battle. It is everyone's responsibility, for the good of all, to follow the rules, and if Mountebank has dedicated herself to anarchy and viciousness, we have no choice but to contain her."

He glowered at the floor. "But at the same time, the rules must be responsive to the needs and goals of the group. A leader must be willing to adopt rules he does not understand, because they are important to his comrades."

"Isn't that a paradox?" I asked. "If your comrades want to wreck all the systems, you can't... make a system to help them do that."

"Indeed," Earl agreed. "It is a form of the age old dilemma between security and freedom. Consider this metaphor: the tank. It is a marvel of engineering, and it is constantly updated and improved. A singular, dogmatic vision would restrict that! But it is sometimes impossible to tell the difference between a creative mind, who wishes to innovate, and a gremlin, who only means to destroy and ruin." He glanced up at us. "Do you have this concept in America? The gremlin?"

"Uh, I saw a movie about them when I was a kid," I said. "I was really young, though, I don't really remember it."

"That is the curse of time," Earl said grimly. Then he fixed his hat back on his head, clenched his jaw, and nodded. "In any case! I bring up these complications because I hope to make a request!" He indicated each of us in turn. "Perfetto, your intuitions and instincts are a valuable tool! Wild, your canny intelligence has helped us all multiple times! I ask you both to serve as counsel on these issues in the future. I fear conflict may be brewing!"

I nodded and Bepi shrugged. "Seems like a lost cause," he said. "But sure, I'll do what I can."

"I can ask no more!" Earl enthused. "Now, let's delay no longer. Mountebank is a fiend, but she must be fed!" He walked to the padlock and opened it, then pulled the chain away from the door. He hesitantly opened the door, then, seeing there was no immediate danger, he beckoned to us and walked in.

 **FRAT HOUSE: WALK-IN FREEZER**

I didn't see her at first, but both Earl and Bepi seemed to have a radar for her. They were staring at the corner of the freezer, tense and nervous.

Juliet sat on the floor, her knees pulled to her chest and her head down. She wore a large, heavy parka, and there was a glowing space heater next to her. She was muttering something, but other than that, she didn't move at all. She hadn't even seemed to notice we were here.

"It's time for your evening meal!" Earl declared. "It's healthful and delicious!" He nodded to Bepi, who crouched and set the food down on the floor. Juliet didn't move.

We stood awkwardly, which allowed me to catch a brief snippet of Juliet's mumblings. "...wizards, physicians, and alchemists came one after another, but none of the miracles of magic or science could cure the despicable princess..."

"Uggggh," Giuseppi grunted, looking at me helplessly. "It's like she's just trying to be as creepy as possible."

"She's failing," I said, surprising myself. I suddenly became aware that I was in a room with two extremely brave men, and I was the least tense person there. I gave Juliet a cold look. "She's just pathetic."

Juliet looked up at me, eyes nearly glowing in the darkness of the corner where she sat.

"You know something I noticed during the trial?" I said. "Even more than her being... horrible, she's _fake_. Everything she did and said was just fake. It was just put-on after put-on." I took a step closer; she hadn't even blinked. "The innocent ditz. Then the monstrous psychopath. Then the dedicated, self-sacrificing girlfriend. Now the creepy, skulking shadow. When every character got exposed, she started acting out another one." I tilted my head, considering her carefully. "I don't think there's even anything really there."

Bepi looked outright alarmed that I was being so challenging, but I couldn't wrap my head around what he could possibly be concerned about. "Was a single moment real?" I asked Juliet, my voice rising. "Was anything at all you said or did last night really you?"

She kept my gaze with a blank look, then just lowered her head again. "The princess had not known she was evil..."

"Ugh, what is that, is that some kind of creepy fairy tale?" Bepi asked. He threw his hands in the air in frustration. "God, Saya's right. That's pretty try-hard."

She didn't look like she even heard us.

 **NORTH QUAD**

After delivering the food and locking back up, we convened in the quad. Earl put his hands on his hips and nodded sharply to us. "Bravely done, friends! We will post a schedule for the regular feeding of Mountebank. Although this is not technically a battlefield, I insist that we treat her humanely, as a prisoner of war."

"Makes sense," Bepi mumbled. "Hey, how come you aren't hung over?"

"I am suffering terribly from a hangover!" Earl stated. "But it is mild distress compared to my horror and guilt for allowing a monster such as Mountebank to go unchecked."

Bepi grunted noncomittally, but then he looked sideways at Earl with a slight smirk. "Hey, you mentioned my instincts before. Well, my instincts are telling me something about you."

Earl blinked. "Yes?!"

"Ashley digs you. You should go for it."

There was a pause; Earl looked kind of frozen. But then, quite suddenly, he relaxed and let out a boisterous laugh. "Coelho is an able ally and a fine person! Although admittedly she is not the kind of woman to whom I am typically attracted, her strength of will gives her a genuine beauty."

"Does that mean you're gonna go for it?"

"It means I will consider the merits of such an idea!" He nodded to Bepi. "In any case, I am relieved she has a friend and supporter like you. I promise, no matter what I decide, I'll treat her with respect and compassion!" He saluted and stomped away.

 **DORM: ZEN GARDEN**

After bidding Earl goodbye, Bepi and I walked rather aimlessly. The arts center and general education building both felt pretty tainted, so we ended up back in the dorm, sitting on a bench in the zen garden. We were near the glass wall, looking out into the lobby. I realized this was probably exactly where Lucina and Katy were sitting when they were the last people besides Therion to see Morgan alive.

It was probably naive to think there was anywhere on this campus that wouldn't be tainted.

Still, I tried to relax. I glanced over at Bepi with a raised eyebrow. "You actually look out for Ashley, don't you?" I said. "Even though you two do nothing but argue, you want her to be with Earl."

He looked back at me blankly. "Yeah?"

"It's just... nice," I explained. "In a nightmare like this, it's nice there can be friendships."

He shrugged. "Maybe I'm just being cynical and selfish. Maybe I don't trust Earl, and I want Ashley to be his target instead of myself."

"Um. Is that true?"

"I don't even know." He sighed, rubbing a palm against his good eye. "Earl's confusing to me. If there's one thing old soldiers can't get a bead on, it's young officers."

"Are you even any older than him?"

"After everything I've been through? Everyone feels young to me," he replied. There was a slightly uncomfortable pause. He chuckled. "Y'know, you can just ask me, if you want."

I blinked. "What?"

"About my past." He had a neutral, soft smile on his face. "I know it's kind of awkward to bring up, but you can just ask me about it."

"Oh. Uh." I played with my hands a little, finding it difficult to look him in the eye. "Actually, the truth is... we're friends. And allies. So, I want to know the history you think is important, and I want you to be able to talk about it. But ah..." I rubbed the back of my head nervously. "I, personally, don't mind really... staying ignorant about the day-to-day life of a child soldier."

Thankfully, he laughed. "Makes sense. Okay, let me think of the most important stuff." He leaned back, a slightly unsettlingly casual smile on his face. "Okay. I'm kind of processing it as I talk, so forgive me if it's a little unfocused. But... okay, I started living there at six and started training a year later. And I didn't know what was going on, but looking back, in the training, they really wanted to fuck with us. You know? Break us, make us little nobodies. We would only exist as soldiers. And they tried all these sophisticated mind-fucks that were all just totally wasted, because we were kids."

He sighed at my blank expression. "Okay... here's an example. Before we went out in the field, they put us in a room with a bunch of other kids, and we had to win."

I hoped that didn't mean what I thought. "Win?"

"Survive. Be the only survivor."

"Christ, Bepi. I'm... I can't imagine."

"No, see, this is my point." He was still very casual about all this. "After I won, they took me out and gave me this big speech about how I was a killer now and I had murdered my own comrades without remorse had no humanity left. They were trying to make me guilty. But... I'm nine. I don't have any moral rules except 'don't make the scary man mad.' I don't know what the fuck guilt is."

He shook his head. "Look, I'm not saying I'm not completely fucked up. But I'm not fucked up in the way they wanted me to be. On missions, all I cared about was making sure everyone in my battalion survived, and I was good at it. I like to pretend I did it because of loyalty and compassion. But looking back, the main thing I remember is, after every mission, we went to see the commanders. And they really liked more survivors, because a dead soldier's a wasted investment. But they hated that I wasn't the soulless monster they wanted me to be." He grinned. "And I loved putting them in that paradox; it was hilarious."

"Jesus." I knew he'd been a soldier, and I knew he was always talking about what a nihilist he was. But I hadn't really thought about any of it before. He suddenly seemed much older than everyone I'd ever met. "...How did you get out?"

"Oh, they knew I was a lost cause when I chose my name."

"You chose your name?"

"Yeah, you make it through a certain number of missions, and you get a name. That's another of their stupid little games; you're just a number, and then the army allows you an identity. But I came up with the most ridiculous thing I could think of." He smirked. "I hope you didn't think Giuseppe Perfetto was a real name. I just looked up at them and was like, 'Yeah, call me Joe Perfect.' Fuck names, fuck identities, fuck everything."

I couldn't help a giggle escaping my lips. "What'd they do?"

"I was too good to justify killing," he answered, shrugging. "They sent me off for special training, and then a couple of years off for R and R. Then this place."

"Do you think they knew?" I asked. "Your program, I mean. Did they know about the killing game?"

"Probably. For all I know, the army's behind all of this. This whole game feels pretty similar to those old mind-fucks."

"Wait," I said, drawing back a bit. "You think they're... child soldiering us? This is some kind of brainwashing?"

"It's possible, right? Why all the rigid rules? The whole thing reeks of military."

"Hmm." I squinted in thought. "Is that why you don't trust Earl?"

"I don't trust anyone but you and Ashley. Just gut feelings, but I can't ignore them."

I was silent for a moment. "I'm starting to get less hopeful about escaping," I admitted finally. "Nicole and Barrett are gonna come into conflict with Earl and Ashley soon, probably. And with Juliet and... Emily..." I sighed. "I can't see us all working together."

"I never could," he replied, nodding. "They told us we could kill the mastermind as a pretty obvious way to get us to murder each other, but that'll cut off the security to everything. It's really the only way out."

"Hm. Are you planning to do that?"

He laughed. "Me? Oh, hell no. I'm just going to sit around and hope someone else does it." He winked or maybe blinked at me. "My advice for you is to do the same."

I just regarded him. "I can't tell if you're trying to be darkly funny, or if you're giving real advice. It's both, isn't it?"

"Eh." He shrugged casually. "If I couldn't laugh at hopelessness, how could I get up in the morning?"

 **DORM: SAYA'S ROOM**

I spent the rest of the day trying to relax. I went for a run, failed at meditating, and tried not to think about the people we'd lost. Everyone mostly seemed to want to stay by themselves, which made a lot of sense to me. I didn't see Barrett or Nicole at all.

At night, Lucina found me and suggested we play chess again. We played a few games, and she was still really bad, but she seemed to really enjoy it. She even wrote something offhandedly about JP, and even though we both got sad, it felt like something we could deal with.

At the end, she hugged me again just like she had that first night, and it lingered just a moment.

That night, my dream was filled in with detail, like the colors and contrast were turned up. Monokuma railed silently off to the side, and Therion faced me, expressionless, hands clasped behind his back. JP sat behind them, hugging his knees to his chest.

"Apocryphal legend," Therion said. "Ernest Hemmingway challenged to write complete story in fewer than ten words. After moment of thought, he declares, ' _For sale, baby shoes, never worn.'_ "

He shrugged. "Undeniably moving. Reason why is obvious: reader fills in details. Must engage. Reader imagines parents." He glanced back at JP, who didn't acknowledge him at all.

Therion paused, clearly was expecting JP to do something. Eventually he just turned his attention back to me. "So, Hemmingway wrote not only shortest story, but also most common story. The story everyone confronts whenever they meet someone new. 'Why is this happening? What happened to cause this?' Imagines parents."

He smirked. "Know the second most common story, right?" He looked back at JP and gestured to him to do something. JP did not move.

Therion shrugged and fixed his gaze back on me. "Boy meets girl."

I woke up slowly, groggy and disoriented.

 **STUDENT UNION: CAFETERIA**

I was fifteen minutes late for our usual breakfast time, but it seems everyone had independently decided that wasn't a priority anymore. The only one there was Rocky, and he sat in table on the far side of the room, big headphones over his ears, staring angrily at his food. I tried to catch his attention and wave, but he just glared at me. I decided to give him space.

Luckily, Nicole came in soon after, and Rodrigo a few minutes after that, so the three of us sat together. We chatted, but I winced when Rocky stood up and stomped out of the room, knocking over a chair on his way.

Rodrigo stoically watched him go. "It pains me to be helpless in the face of my classmates' pain and anxiety."

"Gotta let it out somehow," Nicole said. "He's probably fine! Just stressed, because, you know, murders and snuff films and shit."

I nodded, unsure how I felt about it. Rocky seemed like a nice guy, but he was probably more or a mystery to me than anyone else there. I decided to change the subject. "Um, hey, Nicole. What are you and Barrett planning to do?"

She blinked at me cluelessly. "What?"

"After the trial, you said something about having a plan."

"Oh, right!" She leaned back in her chair casually. "Yeah, Ashley and Earl totally got Emily killed, so that's some bullshit. We shouldn't all be in even more danger because of bad leadership."

I frowned. "And... you and Barrett would be leaders, then?"

"No way!" she replied, still oddly cheerful. "Leadership is the problem. We can't fight Mr. Evil Rule Bear by making up a bunch of rules for us all to follow; that's how this stupid program probably works." She shook her hear with disdain. "The dumb robot won't shut up about the necessity of social hierarchies, and what do we do? Make hierarchies in our group. Can't believe it."

"Friend Archina, you speak with wisdom," Rodrigo said, and I'm not sure if I was surprised or not. "I am grateful for the expertise of all my classmates, and I will attempt to be helpful in any structure we deem to be wise. But I am uncomfortable with the way Friend Morale simply declared himself a leader. I've well learned the lesson that authority can be misused."

Nicole laughed. "There you go! You're a little anarchist boy after all. Didn't know you had it in you."

"Um, I'm not against this in theory," I spoke up. "Especially with one of us walking around as the secret mastermind, having leaders is dangerous. But shouldn't we try to avoid conflict? I don't really love the idea of a big confrontation when we're all already in danger."

Nicole rolled her eyes. "Um, duh, of course you don't; look at you."

I paused and literally looked down at myself. Finding nothing out of the ordinary, I looked back up at Nicole. "...What about me?"

"It's not a diss!" she assured. "But... like, you're Upper Middle Class White Girl. Nothing wrong with that, but you got some cultural stuff going on, you know? I have to know this shit with fashion. Like, I'm not going to make big, crazy clothes for someone like you."

I frowned. "Huh. I mean... yeah, I don't think I could pull off dressing like you do."

"Yeah!" she agreed happily. "So like, for you, conflict is this big deal, right? In your house, I bet no one ever yelled. Your mom yelled, like, once, and it scared the shit out of you, right?"

I had to admit, she had me nailed. "Yeah."

"Yeah, so, Ashley's gonna yell at us all mad, and you're gonna think that's the end of the world. But dude: my dad's Filipino and my mom's Black. We had people yelling and screaming every day in my house, and we all love each other more than goddamn anything. Avoiding conflict isn't the, like, cure-all. You just grew up thinking it is. You know?"

"I guess." I thought about arguing back, but at that moment, beeping went off from all of our tablets.

Nicole pulled hers out and glanced at the screen. "Ugh," she said. "Guess what? I was totally right: after every murder, they open up more of the campus. We got access to another quad."

"Maybe we shouldn't go," Rodrigo suggested, frowning.

"I think we should," I said. "I don't like doing what the mastermind wants, but we need to know if there's anything dangerous over there."

No one felt particularly enthusiastic, so we dragged our feet as we finished breakfast and headed over to the newly opened quad. I found myself wondering, despite myself, if I was just going to see new places where someone was going to leave a dead body.

 **EAST QUAD**

The new quad was different than the others; instead of grass, there was a shiny, smooth concrete spreading across the whole thing. It was larger than the main quad, with seemingly pointless steps and little paths, but there were just two buildings it looked like we had access to: one, directly in front of us, and a strange-looking cube, much larger, looming to our left.

But this wasn't what we found our attention captured by.

"...Do you think he's seen it yet?" I asked, gaping.

"We'd know if he had," Nicole answered.

Rodrigo scratched his head in confusion. "Um, friends, I don't understand. What is this large object, and why does it surprise you so?"

"Uh." I tried to figure out how to say this. "Um, you know Earl?" Rodrigo nodded. "You know that thing he really loves, which he won't shut up about?" Rodrigo nodded again. "Well... that's that thing. That's a tank."

And it was. There was just a goddamn tank sitting near the middle of the quad. It looked like the biggest thing I'd ever seen, enormous treads and somehow even more enormous cannon. "Okay," I said to Nicole. "I might be too afraid of conflict, sure. But he gets that tank running? Gonna have to insist on no confrontations."

She nodded.

 **SCIENCE BUILDING: LOBBY**

We decided to explore the large building first. It looked ultra-modern, with clean, white surfaces. There were several hallways leading to the right and left, and a large staircase in front of us.

We heard a sound coming from one of the hallways, and we noticed there was an open door with a light on behind it. We headed in that direction to investigate.

 **SCIENCE BUILDING: CHEM LAB**

We found ourselves in a large room full of shelves, counters, computers, and desks. Jane stood nearby, wearing a lab coat and carefully sucking up an odd, pink liquid with a pipette. "Don't touch anything," she said, before looking back down at her equipment and not acknowledging us any more at all.

"Uh, hi," I said. "Whatcha doing?"

"Working," she said, looking into a nearby microscope.

"Um. On what?"

"Work," she answered. "I said don't touch anything!" This was directed to Nicole, who, upon entering the room, had immediately started fiddling with everything within reach.

"Jeez, okay, okay," Nicole muttered. "Chill the fuck out, why don't you."

Rodrigo looked around, nodding. "Ah, if Friend Edwards has found work, this must be a building dedicated to science, yes?"

"Looks like it," I said.

But before I could say anything else, Bepi walked into the room, looking addled. "Oh, hey, glad I found you," he said. "Um, so, I was exploring the other building, and... uh, could I show y'all something?"

"What's wrong?" Rodrigo asked, tensing up.

"I think I should just show you."

 **ROTC: ARMORY**

Bepi led us out into the quad and then into the other building. It was much more constricted than the other one, with winding hallways and dead ends. But it still was pretty easy to reach our destination.

"Holy goddamn shit," Nicole said.

I had to agree. Bepi had led us to a room that was completely filled with weapons. Guns, grenades, flame throwers, rocket launchers... all lined up and ready for use.

And every one of these weapons had Monokuma's grinning face plastered on it.

* * *

 _FACT 1: Monokuma can apparently monitor us all the time, even when his robot body is somewhere else._

 _FACT 2: Earl and Ashley locked Juliet up in the frat house's freezer. They'll put up a schedule about when people are supposed to feed her. They're hiding the key from Barrett, because they don't trust him._

 _FACT 3: Nicole and Barrett are planning something to end Earl and Ashley's status as leaders of the group._

 _FACT 4: Monokuma opened up a new quad. Thee two buildings are a science center and a ROTC._

 _FACT 5: The ROTC has an armory full of deadly weapons._

 _FACT 6: There's a tank outside the ROTC. Earl hasn't seen it yet._

* * *

Author's note: We have a tvtropes page, now! https (colon) /tvtropes (dot org) pmwiki / pmwiki. p h p/Fanfic/NewHopeUniversityMajorInMurder

Thanks to Theralion for making it, which gives me a great excuse to plug their own fanganronpa, which I highly recommend and which has served as an inspiration for this story: http (colon) fanfiction dot net/ s/ 12828432 /1/ Where-Talent-Goes-To-Die

Story discord: https (colon) discord dot gg /QxMS5db

Any thoughts on who's gonna get murdered?


	23. Topics in Cosmology: Part B

_Saya's mother walked into the room, a bowl of fresh popcorn in one hand and a wad of paper towels in the other. She sat next to her daughter, smiling comfortably._

 _"Huh,_ American Grafitti _," Saya said as she regarded the splash intro on the screen. "Didn't we watch this already? No wait, that was_ American Hustle _."_

 _"No, this is a classic," Saya's mother replied. "I've only seen it once, though."_

 _"Hm. What's it about?"_

 _Saya's mother tossed a kernel of popcorn into her mouth and considered the question. "Your grandparents, basically. If you've ever wondered about Maw-maw or Granddad, this should clear things up."_

 _"I think everyone's wondered about Granddad," Saya commented dryly._

 _Her mother chuckled. "I also like it because it's got a really young Harrison Ford in it. I have always had a crush on Harrison Ford."_

 _"I know, mom," Saya said, rolling her eyes. "Everyone knows all about your Harrison Ford thing."_

 _"Well, look at him!" Saya's mother defended. She gave her daughter an unreadable look. "I never hear you talk about actors you have crushes on. Don't you have a Harrison Ford? Some young guy I've never heard of?"_

 _Saya looked down at the bowl of popcorn. "Um," she said. She looked back up at her mother with an embarrassed grin. "I mean, I don't know. Not really."_

 _"Oh." Her mother sat back a bit, the unreadable look staying on her face. "That's okay, not everyone's as thirsty as me."_

 _"Mom!" Saya nearly coughed up the popcorn in her mouth. "Don't say 'thirtsty' like that!_ I _don't even say 'thirsty' like that!"_

 _"Don't be mad because my... twitter game is more... fleek... than yours?" Saya threw her hands up over her face in shame, but they both laughed._

 _"But really," Saya's mother said, "you can talk to me about these things. Whatever you have to say."_

 _Saya didn't say anything for a moment; she looked down at the floor, chewing the inside of her cheek. Then she looked back up with an unconvincing smile. "Did dad ever get jealous of your Harrison Ford thing?"_

 _Saya's mother paused but recovered from the conversation topic change gracefully. "No, I don't think he ever knew about it."_

 _"Maybe I'll ask him about it," Saya said breezily. "I mean... if he ever decides he wants to see me again."_

 _Her mother did not say anything._

 _"Um." Saya sighed and shrugged. "Want to start the movie?" she asked. Her mother just nodded._

* * *

 **ROTC: ARMORY**

We just stood in the doorway for what felt like hours, taking in the rows and rows of horrible machinery. I had never seen anything like it.

"Whoa, step back," Giuseppe said harshly, snapping me back to the moment. He was glaring at Nicole, who had moved toward a rack full of machine guns. "It's not you, Nicole," he clarified. "My hard-ass side just comes out when I find Belgium's entire military stockpile during a murder game. You get it, right?"

"Not really," she replied, shrugging. "But whatever, do what you gotta do."

"I don't think I can do anything to make us really safe," he said. "Even I have never seen anything like this."

"Is... is it really that bad?" I asked hesitantly. "I know you're all trained, but most of the rest of us aren't. I wouldn't know how to use any of this stuff."

"Have higher standards for yourself!" Monokuma's voice suddenly bellowed from the hidden speakers in the room, causing me to nearly have a heart attack. "We've deliberately chosen the simplest and most user-friendly weapons that were available! And if you're still confused, we've supplied helpful instruction manuals in the filing cabinet on the opposite wall."

"Well, shit," Nicole said. She glanced at Giuseppi. "That right?"

Bepi nodded grimly. "It looks like it is." He glared at a nearby rocket-launcher, Monokuma's face smiling back. "Most of these are... not exactly pick-up-and-use, but pretty close."

"Pardon me," Rodrigo said politely. "But has anyone else noted that sign? It may change things."

We turned to where he was looking; the inside of the door we'd come in through. In big, white letters, a sign there said, **NOTICE: ANY VIDEO FOOTAGE OF STUDENTS REMOVING WEAPONS FROM THIS ROOM WILL BE AVAILABLE FROM UNIVERSITY ADMINISTRATORS UPON REQUEST**

Nicole rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "Huh. Hey, Mr. Bear! Is this sign true?"

"Yep!" Monokuma sounded almost manic in his excitement. "No tricks, either! I won't make you search through hours of tape or anything. If someone takes a weapon, I'll give you the exact footage of it, from any angle you want! And if they wear a mask, I'll show you the tape of them putting the mask on, wherever they did it!"

"Wait," I said. "You give us all these weapons, but you'll expose anyone who uses them? What's the point?"

"College is about teaching critical thinking!"

I started to argue, but at that moment, there was a muffled but still surprisingly loud whoop from outside the building. I went to a window; we were on the second floor, so I could see the quad spread out below me. As I suspected, Earl jumped up and down next to the tank, with Katy and Lucina standing by, their poses awkward. "He saw it," I announced.

"Shit," Bepi announced. "Okay, look, we need to gather everyone and deal with this as soon as possible. Does anyone disagree?" He gave maybe two full seconds for argument before continuing. "Right. Saya, could you go get the people outside? Rodrigo, could you go get Jane? Nicole, you mind staying with me?"

It was weird to see him taking charge like this, but I remembered what he'd said earlier: the thing he was good at was keeping everyone in his unit alive. Maybe this was how he did it. "Okay," I said, and the others nodded agreement, too.

 **EAST QUAD**

As I approached the Tank, Earl was nowhere to be seen. Katy and Lucina each waved to me, both seeming relieved that they had help with the situation. "Where'd he go?" I asked.

But a hatch opened in the top of the tank and he suddenly launched himself outward, landing in a stance that, in anyone else, would have looked like an incredibly artificial pose, but with him was just, yeah, the way Earl would stand on a tank.

"Wild!" he shouted. "Our captors have shortsightedly supplied us with the means for our liberation!"

"It's a tank," I replied, unsure of what else to say.

"Unfortunately, it's not currently functional," he announced. "But fear not! With my expertise, it won't be long before we're crashing through the cruel walls surrounding this campus, on our way to freedom!"

"Hooray!" Katy said, though she sounded more confused than excited.

"Hey," I said, "I'm happy you found a tank, but we have kind of a situation in one of the buildings. We have to gather everyone to figure out what to do."

"Is it serious?!" Earl bellowed.

"Uh. Kinda, yeah."

"Very well, then!" He jumped down off the tank, landing on the concrete with his hands on hips hips. "I know where Coelho is; I will fetch her!"

"See if you can find anyone else!" I called after him, and he simply held out his arm in a thumbs up as he walked confidently back to the main quad.

The three of us left shared a confused moment. Finally, Lucina held out a note: _Are we all going to get run over by a tank?_

"Yes," I replied.

"No!" Katy replied at exactly the same time.

There was another pause, but this time we all giggled together. "All right," I said. "Let's go inside; there's more horrible things in there."

 **ROTC: ARMORY**

We pretty quickly all gathered in the armory, though Ashley and Earl were unable to find DJ Rocky. Deciding having most instead of all of the group was good enough, Bepi explained the situation to everyone.

"Wait," Barrett scoffed. "Motherfucker presents all this on a silver platter, then makes it impossible to use any of it without getting caught?!" He doubled over in coarse laughter. "That's hilarious!"

"Does seem like some kind of stupid prank," Nicole agreed.

"This is still serious!" Ashley fumed. "Someone can still use the weapons, just not without risking near-certain execution. And I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm not in the mood for getting murdered by someone who happens to have a death wish."

"I volunteer to stand permanent guard," Rodrigo offered.

But Earl shook his head. "Not necessary, Diaz! You are more useful around campus. I suggest we simply catalog the contents of this room and regularly check for anything missing. That will allow us to identify the thief before the weapon is used!"

It sounded sensible to me, but I noticed Barrett and Nicole giving one another a look.

Ashley noticed, too. "What."

They just regarded her innocently. "Nothing," Nicole said.

"No," Ashley insisted. "What is it? Do you have something to share?"

"Oh, nothing," Barrett replied. "How do you expect us to react watching Punch and Judy coming up with another plan that's gonna get someone killed?"

Earl took a step back as if physically attacked, but Ashley balled up her fists and faced Barrett head-on. "Another plan?"

Earl reached out to her. "Coelho..."

"No!" she snapped, then whirled back to face Barrett. "Say your piece, Bomberman. What do you mean, 'another plan?'"

"Didn't realize I was being subtle," Barrett replied. "I'm just saying you and Earl got Emily killed with your stupid party idea. You just decided you're top of the totem pole and led us right into the fucking frying pan instead of listening to everyone else."

"That's simply false," Ashley shot back, "and I'm not sure if you're misremembering or simply being dishonest. If we had left it up to a vote, the party would have happened anyway, remember? I was the leading voice against the idea!"

"Must be nice, huh?" Barrett asked nobody in particular, looking around the room. "Getting to be the bigshot leader, but at the same time saying it's not her fault when shit goes wrong. Always the way with these folks, right?"

Ashley just glanced at her wristwatch. "This is boring. Your argument contradicts itself, and you know it. Because it's bad for someone to impose their will onto the group, you want to force the group to change in the way you want. I don't even need to try, with that."

"It ain't imposed when everyone equal!" Barrett snarled. "That's just the way things should work before tyrants like you started stepping in!"

"Ugh," Ashley grunted, rolling her eyes. "And a fallacious appeal to nature? Just pathetic." She glanced over at Nicole with a smirk. "You wanna try? Meathead here obviously isn't the brains of the little rebellion you kids are planning."

With a roar, Barrett suddenly flung himself towards her, fist raised. Just as quickly, Earl dashed in front of Ashley, hand raised to block the punch.

But Barrett didn't get that far. He was suddenly jerked backwards, and he just stood, glowering and growling. Faster than I could even see, Bepi had moved behind him and grabbed his arm out of the air with one hand. He didn't even look like he was straining at all as he held Barrett's arm in place.

"I really don't want to take any sides, here," Bepi hissed. "But let's all just keep cool, all right?" He glanced forward. "Earl? You back off too, buddy."

Earl slowly relaxed and took a step backward. "Indeed." Ashley just grinned, though.

"Fuck this," Barrett growled, pulling his arm out of Bepi's grasp. He stormed out the door without another word.

Ashley surveyed the room, completely unshaken. "All right, unless there's any other argument, the smartest move is to catalog the contents of this armory and and check that nothing is missing several times a day." She glanced over. "Giuseppe, I'll need your expertise to help identify the weapons. Saya, you're organized, come deal with the instruction manuals. I will now pause for five seconds to allow anyone to voice objections to this group of people initially cataloging the weapons." She looked at her watch. No one said anything. "Very well. Dismissed." Everyone just stared at her. "Dis fucking missed."

Still, no one moved.

* * *

Half an hour later, the three of us were alone in the room. Ashley grimaced at a particularly nasty-looking giant cannon-looking thing. "What's this one?" she asked, glaring over her shoulder.

Bepi looked. "Mortar. P44a, 60 millimeter."

She nodded and jotted it down in the little book she carried. I flipped through the stack of instruction manuals until I found the right one, which I took and placed in the 'found' pile.

"At first this was so weird," I remarked. "Like I was in a video game, or something." I sighed at a Monokuma-faced rocket launcher, which had a Monokuma-faced rocket sticking out of it. "But rigid cataloging kind of takes the excitement out of everything, doesn't it?"

"Welcome to the army," Bepi replied. He looked over at the piece of equipment Ashley was indicating. "Wolfsbane howitzer A23."

"You're a couple of idiots," Ashley grunted as I searched through the stack of manuals. "This is exactly why you're at the mercy of the world, instead of the other way around. We're going from ignorance of everything in this room to complete, organized knowledge, all at our fingertips whenever we need it! You should find this energizing." She pointed at the rocket launcher I'd just been eyeing.

"E44 Defender," Bepi said. "It's an anti-tank weapon. Don't tell Earl."

"It's just depressing to think about how many people all this equipment has killed," I said, looking for the Defender manual.

"Oh, boo hoo," Ashley sneered, rolling her eyes. "The world's a nasty place; none of us are dumb enough to pretend it isn't. How do you expect to be president if you can't take a little violence?"

I frowned at her. "I... don't expect to be president."

"See?!" She threw up her hands in simultaneous victory and frustration. "You say things like that, of course you're going to be a loser."

"Ashley," Bepi chided. "You're doing that thing again, where you make it as hard as possible for people to like you."

"No, it's okay," I said, a bit surprised to find that it was true. "I probably am a loser compared to her."

She nodded at me smartly, then sneered at Giuseppi. "And recognizing that is the first step to liking me. So you're wrong."

I started to speak, then caught myself. Had she actually just made a joke? Her tone had been snappish and sharp, just like always, so I almost couldn't tell. But if this was a side of her she hadn't shown in bigger groups, I was beginning to understand Giuseppi's friendship with her a little better.

Bepi rolled his eye. "Refusing to compete with you isn't the same as losing to you, which is something I've explained about a hundred times."

"A fantastic attitude," she replied, very dryly sarcastic. "Next time someone's shooting one of these rocket launchers at you, just refuse to compete; I'm sure it'll work out great."

"Isn't that the attitude the mastermind wants us to have?" I suggested.

Ashley just shrugged. "Probably. Doesn't mean it's wrong."

"Maybe," I said, remembering what happened the last time someone had tried to argue with her. Frowning, I suddenly found myself recalling what Giuseppi said about the two of us being the only people here he trusted. "...Um, speaking of that... have either of you thought about who the mastermind might be?"

Ashley gaped at me. "Wait, you mean we can speculate about who the mastermind might be?! The person it's desperately important we identify?!"

I sighed. "Okay, okay. Dumb question. But... come on, you know where I'm going with this. Who do you think it is?"

"You," Ashley replied without a single moment's pause.

"Um." I gaped at her. "...Really?"

"You're on the suspect list, for certain." She tapped her bottom lip with her pen and regarded me carefully. "Think about what we know of the mastermind. They're a skilled organizer, capable of seeing the big picture. They're clearly a good actor, playing the role of the innocent student with few, if any, mistakes. They're an ideologue. And, they're at least decently skilled with programming or have access to others who are, to make the bear." She shrugged casually. "I'm gathering information, but there are too many holes to know anything for sure."

"Eh, this psychoanalysis kind of thing is pointless," Bepi said. "Anyone can be anything, deep down. The important thing is just practical: the mastermind has to be older than a typical first-year student, because they've done this game multiple years."

I blinked. I somehow hadn't thought of that. "That has to be true for whoever this holdover student is, too," I said. "Right? Because they're coming back."

"Mm-hmm." Giuseppi folded his arms across his chest. "I know that three students are in their twenties: Earl, Jane, and me. And JP, but he doesn't count anymore, because, you know, sploosh."

"I'm eighteen," I said.

"So am I," Ashley grunted. "And I'll have you know I had access to several accelerated schooling programs, I and my family decided it was best to go the traditional route, despite my fervent objections!"

"I don't know about anyone else," Bepi said, deciding to ignore Ashley's outburst. "I suspect Lucina and Barrett are older, and that Katy and Rodrigo aren't, but that's just guesses."

"Hmm. Well, it's not Barrett anyway, right?" I ventured. "He's exactly not what the mastermind would be. He hates authority and hierarchies and all that stuff Monokuma keeps playing up."

"Ugh, you're smarter than that," Ashley said sharply. "Besides trying to throw us off the track, a persona like that can be really useful. 'Hey, look how dangerous it is when you fight authority, you get really crass and blow things up all the time.' Be the example of what you want people to move away from, and you're leading them right where you want."

"Oh, whatever," Bepi said. "We can make little stories about how anyone is the mastermind, and it'll make sense." He thought for a moment. "Except Juliet, because who the fuck even knows, with her."

"What about the party?" I asked. "The mastermind wouldn't let their guard down, right? Did everyone who seemed drunk actually drink?"

"Guh," Bepi gurgled, "don't mention drinking at the party."

"The kegs were, indeed, emptied of much of their contents," Ashley answered me. "And the clothing and breath of all who were drinking smelled strongly of alcohol. I think it's safe to assume everyone who intended to drink actually did so, JP excluded and Jane included." She grimaced. "But, because of everything that happened, it doesn't even matter."

"What? Why?"

"Because of the murder." Ashley glared down at the floor. "The mastermind probably can't know what's happening on campus moment-to-moment, but they could easily get frequent updates from Monokuma. So whoever it is probably knew Juliet was acting suspicious. Maybe even figured out what she was planning and who the victim would be."

"I get it," I mused, frowning. "They knew Juliet was planning something and that no one else was, so there wasn't much danger in drinking. They knew the party was going to end early when we found the body."

"It's fucking ghoulish," Bepi said. "Cheerfully going along with a party when you know someone's going to get murdered during it."

"What do you expect, with an overfed psycho like Juliet?" Ashley sneered. "She wears _no_ make-up. _None_. Perfect skin." She put her hands on her hips and glowered. "I bet her parents let her sleep, too. Do you believe that? There's kids out there so pampered and spoiled, they sleep like little babies every night, even if they aren't doing well in school?"

My mouth fell open as I looked at her. "Your parents didn't let you sleep?!"

"Not when I needed to learn my lesson!" she snapped back at me.

Bepi held up a hand. He looked resigned, like he'd tried to have this conversation with her before. "Hey, Saya, you know what a big fan I am of arguing with Ashley, but let's just all take a deep breath, okay?"

"We have weapons to catalog, anyway!" Ashley said. She gave me a sideways look. "Unless you want to take a nap?"

Bepi's easy-going expression kept me from taking the bait. "I'm fine," I said. "Let's get back to work, I guess."

 **DORM: SAYA'S ROOM**

That night, I fell asleep easily, though not without some apprehension about what might happen in that night's edition of Murderer's Theater. This time, there was more detail, a wider scope. Therion stood in some kind of television studio, a fancy film camera in front of him. JP huddled behind him, ignoring Monokuma, who shrieked silently, waving his little paws around.

"Narrative like games," Therion was saying, somehow directly talking to the camera but also at me. "Difficult to define. Some theorists believe two basic elements of narrative: change over time and intentionality." Monokuma stomped right up to JP, pulling vainly on his arm. Therion did not react to this. "Both necessary. 'There is a greedy man.' No change over time; not a story. 'A tree branch rotted and fell to the ground.' No intentionality; not a story."

He shrugged. "Some researchers found, same parts of brain active when reading story as when remembering past experiences. Project self into stories, or remember self as hero of own story? Stupid question. No distinction. Own life is story. Story is own life."

JP, without looking up, smacked Monokuma in the arm. The little bear flew into a silent rage, shouting and spitting, but JP didn't react.

Therion took a step forward. "Smart people try to take pieces from external stories to make up self. Build patchwork narrative, borrowed collection of changes and intentionalities. Almost-smart people try to write own story from nothing." He walked directly up to the camera, his face just inches from it; somehow, his face filled my whole vision, blank and cold. "How smart are you, Saya?"

I was woken by a sharp knock on my door. I blearily heaved myself to my feet, noting that based on the light out my window, it was morning... but very early morning. I stumbled to the door and leaned my head against it. "Who is it?"

"It's Bepi," his voice replied. "Uh... I can't think of a pun right now. Hey, you should come out here; something's happened."

Fear pulled me awake. "Was it a murder?"

"No. A murder would be less nonsensical. Just come out here."

 **DORM: UPSTAIRS HALLWAY**

As I stepped into the hallway and the door closed behind me, everything looked normal, except for Bepi's odd expression, standing there alone. I gave him a quizzical look, and he nodded his head back toward my room.

Confused, I turned back, and I saw what he'd been referring to. Someone had stenciled on the outside of my door, in ugly black letters, **The Peculiar Princess.**

"That mean anything to you?" Giuseppi asked.

I shook my head. "This is... bizarre." I glanced over and saw Jane's door, to my right, said **The Shrewd Princess.** Juliet's door, to my left, said **The Wicked Princess.** I frowned. "...Peculiar? Why am I peculiar?"

"I'll assume you don't really want me to answer you," Bepi said. "And before you ask: No, I have no goddamn idea where any of this came from. It was all here when I woke up. Everyone still alive has a... title."

"Oh, hey!" a voice called, and I turned to see Nicole rounding the corner and waving to us. "Weird, huh?!" She walked right up and looked at my door. Then she looked at me. "Oh, I get it!" she said.

"Wait, what do you mean?" Social anxiety was stupid in this context, but I couldn't help it. "How do you get it?"

"Good morning, Nicole," Bepi interjected quickly, before she could answer me. "Do you know anything about this?"

"No way. Kinda cool, though." She grinned at us proudly. "I'm 'The Tenacious Princess.' Bad-ass, huh? What are you?"

Giuseppi took off his hat and rubbed his shaved head. "Uh... I seem to be... kind of a weird exception. I don't know."

"Huh." Nicole scrunched up her forehead in confusion. "What kind of exception?"

"I'll just show you." He gestured, and we followed him down the hallway.

Around a corner, we came across Rodrigo staring at his own door in consternation. **The Insolent Prince** stared back at him.

"Uh, hey," I said awkwardly.

"Insolent?!" he barked, startling us. Nicole let out a shriek and Bepi, seemingly on instinct, positioned himself in front of us.

Rodrigo, blushing, rubbed the back of his head. "Oh, my apologies! I lost my temper and acted dishonorably. I am... unsettled by this insulting and specious label."

"I get it," I said. "I was 'peculiar.'"

Rodrigo tilted his head in thought as he regarded me. "Well..."

"Aggh," I grunted, raising my eyes to the ceiling. "Not you too..."

"I wouldn't take any if it too seriously," Nicole said, doodling idly into her design sketchbook. "We don't know what the hell any of this even means. But hey, check it out." She held her notepad out for Rodrigo to see. "Evocative shit, gives me great ideas. This is inspired by the Insolent Prince thing; don't you think you'd look super awesome?"

Rodrigo turned slightly pale as he looked at her sketch. "Those clothes are... very insolent."

I resisted the surprisingly strong urge to look, myself. Instead, I looked down the hall at the door next to Rodrigo's, which led to Lucina's room. I was distressed and a bit offended to see **The Ugly Princess**.

Nicole noticed my reaction. "Oh, yeah, saw that. Not sure what they're smoking; Lucina's super hot, right? Like, model hot." She gasped. "I should totally make out with Lucina!"

"Please don't," I said, walking over to Lucina's door. I knocked, and a few moments later, the door opened a crack, revealing a suspicious and then a smiling face.

"I think you should come out here," I said. When she emerged, we explained what we knew and she seemed to take the 'ugly' thing pretty well.

 _I think peculiar is a compliment,_ she wrote to me, which helped.

We continued on to Bepi's room (Nicole wandered off in the opposite direction for no reason I could perceive), and when we arrived, I saw what he meant when he said he was a weird exception.

"...The Pauper?" I said.

"I have no clue," Bepi said. "I'll be the first to tell you I'm no prince, but beyond that, I dunno."

Rodrigo shook his head darkly. "I fear these messages are evil manipulations."

"Well, that's a given," Bepi said. He glanced up to the ceiling. "Hey, bear! Are these messages here somehow supposed to make us want to kill each other?"

"Partly!" Monokuma's shrill voice answered from a hidden speaker.

We waited for any more information. There was none. But we did hear a giggle.

 **STUDENT UNION: CAFETERIA**

Breakfast was tense, even though the room was mostly empty. Rocky sat by himself, apparently not eating anything; just glowering.

Rodrigo had excused himself before we had even gotten to the cafeteria, claiming he had no appetite, and when we arrived, Giuseppi just took an apple and casually left with no more than a wave goodbye.

Lucina and I walked in with equal amounts of awkwardness and comfort. We got ourselves some cereal and went to find a seat.

Chewing thoughtfully, Lucina slid a note to me. _Should we invite DJ Rocky to sit with us?_

I glanced at him. He looked like he was in a very bad mood. "Um, I don't think so," I replied quietly. "Seems like he wants to be alone."

 _I'm sympathetic,_ she wrote. _His space was ruined. He can't go back to his studio without thinking about the murder, so he lost his outlet. I've tried to talk to him, but he just changes the subject._

I raised an eyebrow. "You get him that well? He's always been a mystery."

She shrugged. _Well, yes, he opens up to me. Like Bepi opens up to you._

"Hm. I didn't realize that was unusual."

She squinted at me for a moment. _Giuseppi is always nice, but I think he scares everyone but you and Ashley. Even Barrett backed down from him, remember?_

"I guess..." But I didn't get a chance to say more, because I heard someone clanging a piece of silverware against a drinking glass.

I turned to see Katy standing near the door. When she got everyone's attention, she cleared her throat. "Hi, everyone. Sorry to interrupt, but I wanted to do something I think is really important, and it's important everyone do it with me."

"Oh, what the fuck is this, now?" Rocky complained.

Katy did not waver. "It'll just take a minute," she said. "And it'll be good for everyone." Her gaze was unusually serious. "I absolutely insist."

He didn't seem to like it, but the three of us gathered in front of Katy, who seemed relieved.

"We all need to go to the roof of the new science building," she explained.

"Um, all right," I said. "What for?"

"I'll explain when we're all there. I'll try to find everyone else and meet you there." She gave us a small, genuine smile. "Thanks."

 **SCIENCE CENTER: FIFTH FLOOR**

We ran into Jane on our way up to the building and managed to drag her out of the lab with us. The building was odd: the bottom floor was super-modern, full of new-looking computers and equipment, but as we climbed the stairs, each higher floor looked more and more out-of-date. When we finally emerged from the stairwell, on the fifth floor, we just found a huge room full of tall, boxy modules. They didn't stretch all the way to the ceiling, but they were taller than us, so the whole place was a confusing maze.

"What are these things?" I asked, poking at one of the modules. It had flashing lights and switches and spools and was very strange to look at.

"They're computer drives," Jane replied, making it as clear as possible that she did not actually care about informing me of anything. "This is an old computer room."

"Seriously?" I looked around, baffled that this is what computers used to look like. "So this entire room is... my phone?"

"This entire room is a billionth of your phone." After some twists and turns, we finally reached the other end of the room, where there was a ladder leading up to an open hatch. "Ugh, are we going to have to climb up there like monkeys?" Jane glanced at us and sniffed. "I'm wearing a dress, so I'll go first."

That did not make much sense to me, but I was fine to let her go ahead. Lucina and I shared an amused look and we followed. Rocky waited until last, not saying a word.

 **SCIENCE CENTER: ROOF**

The roof could not have been more different from the fifth floor. Instead of ancient, slow equipment, everything looked shiny and new. Ahead of us, there were two rows of telescopes creating kind of a hallway which led to a large dome at the other end of the roof. On our left and right, there were glass cubes with no visible doors and shiny, brand-new-looking computers in them. The floor was even painted black with little shiny, glowing stars.

Lucina held up a note that said, _This is beautiful_ **,** and I had to agree. I walked over to the edge of the roof and leaned on the chest-high railing, looking down at the quad below me. There was a nice breeze and, despite the odd sight of the tank reminding me of the violence of this campus, I felt kind of peaceful. I noticed Lucina standing next to me.

A voice rose up from below, and I looked down to see Katy standing in the quad, waving up at us. She was with most of the other students that I could see. The Barrett/Nicole contingent was not standing close to the Ashley/Earl group.

'Hey!" she called. "Is Jane with you? We couldn't find her!"

"I'm here!" Jane called back, suddenly appearing on the other side of me and causing me to jump. "But I won't fuck you!"

"Wait until I make my move!" Katy replied. "Okay, we're all coming up, see you in a minute!"

 **SCIENCE CENTER: OBSERVATORY DOME**

When they finally all arrived on the roof, Katy led us into the dome. It was huge and white inside, empty except for a ladder leaning against one wall, a small control panel near the door, and an enormous, central module of tubes that I assumed was a very high-tech telescope. It pointed up to a closed shutter spreading across the roof of the dome.

Katy stood solemnly as we all gathered, some of us very impatiently, in a group next to the telescope. She crossed her arms over her chest and regarded us seriously. "I don't know what's going on with everyone," she said. "I'm sure like five of you are planning to do something awful the next time you get a chance. But I don't care about any of that. Because this?" She waved her hand around the room. "This is obviously for astronomy."

"This is a waste of time," Ashley muttered, rolling her eyes.

"I'm sure it is," Katy snapped. "I'm sure this is all just a dumb, pointless, sentimental thing that is going to get me killed. Whatever. None of us really had a chance to know Morgan, and JP and Therion are... complicated to remember. But Emily? Everyone loved Emily. Emily was going to be our friend, and it's not fair she got taken away."

Stomping feet and a slamming door startled me. We all jumped and looked around in confusion. Eventually I realized: Barrett was gone. He had stormed out.

"Seriously?" Rocky grunted.

"Forget him," Katy said. "Look, after this, you can all go on with your weird power struggles. But right now, in this place she would have loved, we are all going to spend sixty seconds in silence to remember and honor Emily. We can all do that, right?"

"Yes," Rodrigo said, confidently. Looking around, I saw that no one else seemed to have much heart to disagree.

"Okay," Katy said. "Just sixty seconds." She pulled out her tablet and pushed a button. "I'll tell you when it's over."

It was weird. Remembering Emily was like remembering several different realities superimposed upon one another. We had only known each other for such a short period of time, so it felt silly that I missed her so, so much. But this was such an intense situation, and... I kind of hadn't known friendship could be as easy as it had been with her.

My mind drifted to Morgan, too, and I felt a fresh pang that I'd never gotten to know the Vandal at all. He'd been challenging to be around, but looking back, he hadn't been dangerous at all. Just... odd. Like me.

My mind faded over to chess then, which is typical. Shifting moves and possibilities and outcomes, and before I even knew it, Katy looked up from her tablet. "Okay, that's time," she said. "Thank you, everyone." I felt my hand being squeezed and realized that at some point Lucina taken it in hers. She let go and we smiled sadly at one another.

"Phew!" a voice screeched, and Monokuma suddenly bounded into sight from nowhere. "It was soooo haaaaard not to interrupt your little moment! But if there's one thing I respect, it's ritual!"

"Oh, what the hell are you doing here?" Nicole asked irritatedly.

"Just a quick visit!" He rubbed his paws together with manic glee. "I finished the second part of your motivvveeeee!"

"Motive?!" Earl pointed a finger out at Monokuma harshly. "Your duplicity failed you long ago! There's no motive you can give us to commit murder!"

"I'm a professional," Monokuma defended. "This is a group I have to be a little more subtle with, but believe me, there's no one who won't be a murderer with the right push."

A beeping sound went off around the room. "Aha!" Monokuma cackled. "It arrived!" He jumped up and down in excitement. "Did you all like the preview I left you this morning, on the doors to your room? The... identities I revealed? Well, in the Monomail I just sent you all, you'll see what that's all about! I've supplied you all with one another's life stories!"

Rocky had his tablet out and was scrolling through in confusion. "Uh... I don't get it. This is just a bunch of, like, weird fairy tales."

"Symbol and metaphor carry the wisdom of the ages!" Monokuma fumed. "We dressed up the details with some genre expectations, but believe me, those stories capture the true, deep-down facts about who you all really are. Ohh, I hope you like them. They were a collaboration between myself and a... talented colleague."

Bepi squinted at him. "Talented colleague? Who?"

"Pu hu hu! Why, Miss Mountebank, of course! You've all just isolated her, so I had to give her something to do, didn't I? So I supplied the details and she wrote the stories themselves."

I had, by this point, found my story, the story of The Peculiar Princess. I read it, an uncomfortable feeling settling into my stomach. It really did pretty much nail me.

"This is foolish," Earl insisted. "Mere stories won't induce us to kill!"

But as I glanced around the room, I saw the same unsettled look on almost everyone's faces, looking down at their tablets.

Bepi was an exception. He fixed his eye on Monokuma. "Uh, how come I don't have one?" he asked.

"Oh, right." Monokuma brought his paw up to his chin, rubbing it thoughtfully. "I can only expose the true identities of people with identities! But you? You're just a soldier."

Bepi glowered at him. Without another word, he turned and walked out of the dome. "Oh dear!" Monokuma taunted. "Unfortunate emotions getting stirred up already! I hope things don't get too dangerous!" He spun and disappeared.

Looking around the room, there was a wide range of responses. Rodrigo appeared furious, Ashley was completely blank, Nicole was horrified... and Lucina had tears in her eyes. I walked closer to her, reaching out my hand, but she shook her head quickly at me and dashed out the door.

 **SCIENCE CENTER: ROOF**

Earl tried vainly to rally people, but after only a few minutes, the group had just uncomfortably dispersed. He stood glumly in the 'hallway' of telescopes, looking up at the cloudy sky. Ashley and I were the only ones left, and we glanced awkwardly at one another. Depression was not a vibe that fit very smoothly onto Earl.

"Look, it doesn't even matter," Ashley ventured. "Nobody's gonna pull any shit, and even if they try, we'll stop them! There's nothing we can't accomplish without a little focus and organization!"

Earl didn't reply.

"Look, this is bullshit," Ashley continued. "Just stupid little stories!"

Earl looked back at her, frowning. "There's deep truth in these stories. Paths of life that they've worked to keep concealed; they wove a tapestry of roles and jobs and habits to distract from the face within."

He sighed. "I am not a foolish man, but I am a simple one. I fear I am at heart incapable of understanding those who are more complex." He began to walk towards the hatch leading down to the fifth floor. "I will speak with you later, Coehlo," he called over his shoulder.

We watched him go. Ashley's face was unreadable. "This is just so dumb," she muttered. "Imagine being so affected by a fairy tale!"

"Uh, well..." I knew I had to be tactful, but I had no idea how. "...I mean, mine did kind of hit close to home. Stuff about my dad and... ways I've felt. It wasn't so bad, but I can see how it might be, for some people." Ashley just glared. "Um. You're the Obedient Princess, right?"

She eyed me suspiciously. Trying to be casual, I leaned my shoulder against one of the telescopes, but it was on a pivoting hinge. It swung around loosely from my body weight, and I stumbled, nearly falling to the floor.

"I don't know why I even talk to you," Ashley muttered, beginning to walk away.

I recovered and took a step after her. "Wait, but that is you, right? The Obedient Princess?"

She whirled on me. "So what?"

I felt myself melting from the look on her face, but I continued, "Is it true? I mean... not literally, obviously, but the basic idea?"

"You keep wanting to talk about my stupid childhood. What's your deal?"

"Uh." I was losing confidence about this whole thing. "I don't think I have a deal..."

"Look, fine, let's just get it over with," she snapped. "My dad's a fucker. An outright psychopath. But." She crossed her arms and glared at me defensively. "He just had high hopes for me, and he wanted me to reach my potential. If he didn't think I was better than the rest of you lazy, worthless dirt, he wouldn't have done what he did. It was necessary."

"What did he do?"

"Just normal things!" she barked. "When I didn't measure up, I was punished!"

I took a step back. "With... lack of food and sleep?"

"Punishments with consequences, unlike whatever your spoiled little ass had to deal with. Growing bodies need nutrition." She glanced down at her own tiny little form. "If I'd been better..." She shook her head as if ridding it of an unpleasant thought. "...But I wasn't, so this is what I have to work with now. Consequences."

I just looked at her, completely blank on what I could possibly say. "I know it was extreme!" she growled. "I know most parents wouldn't do that! But it was good. He was good for me."

I waved my hands around in confusion. "You say you know it was extreme and he's a psychopath, but it's good?"

"He just had high standards!" she nearly shouted. "He believes in me. It was probably abuse; I know that. But as long as he believes in me... as long as I know he did it because he thought I could be the best... I know what he was doing was right. I'm not going to go around complaining, I'm not some spoiled baby." She smacked a fist into her palm. "It's lessons I had to learn. He taught me, as long as you follow the rules, you'll be fine. No, better than fine; you'll reach your peak. But step out of line?" She shrugged casually. "Die."

 **STUDENT UNION: STUDENT STORES**

I went for a run to try to de-stress, and it helped a little bit. Afterwards, I headed to the student stores to try to get some mental stimulation. Glancing at some of the other students' fairy tales, I could see they were darker than mine (I had no earthly clue how to ask Lucina about hers). But I still felt anxious and unsettled.

 _"Goddamn it, Saya,"_ he had said. _"You just make things as hard as fucking possible for everyone. You think it means you're smart. If you're so smart, how come no one can stand to be around you?"_

 _I had tried to argue something then, and he cut me off. "No. No. It's you. I used to think it was me, and your mother trained you to do this to me as some kind of petty revenge. But no, it's all you. It's all just... thinking you're impressing anyone, like some smug genius. Jesus fucking christ, I can't deal with it anymore. No one can fucking deal with you."_

I ended up buying an energy drink and some snack cakes, which was absolutely not the kind of mentally stimulating thing I'd come in there for. But the first taste of that oatmeal creme pie told me it was the right choice.

As I completed my purchase, I heard a voice coming from the cafeteria. I decided to take a look.

 **STUDENT UNION: CAFETERIA**

Rodrigo sat with Lucina, both with cups of coffee and donuts; apparently I was not the only person who needed junk food at the moment. Surprisingly, Rodrigo looked happy and enthusiastic, and Lucina smiled too.

Rodrigo waved gregariously when he saw me. "Oh, friend Wild! Lucina was explaining to me the reason we honored friend Voss on the roof of the new building. That entire temple was devoted entirely to a device to peer into the heavens! It's astounding!"

Lucina held up a note, _He wanted to know how it works, and I realized I have no idea. Do you know?_

"No clue," I said. "It involves computers somehow, but that's all I got."

"Computers!" Rodrigo wailed, frowning. "Cubes of Abbadon! The accursed contraptions have tendrils everywhere in this modern world!"

I shrugged. "Yeah, I guess so. But... well, Monokuma's basically a computer, but most places in the modern world aren't controlled by evil murder-bears. So it's not that bad overall."

Rodrigo nodded thoughtfully. "Yes, I will tamp down my fear of the new and strange. I may never understand such machinery, but my heart glows from knowing of it. To peer into the gloom between the stars and find new suns and worlds! This is God's love, you see?" His voice and face made him seem far younger than he was, despite his heavily muscled body. "We are born ignorant in order to be given the gift of learning. God gave us infinite dimensions to explore."

He blinked and seem to suddenly realize he was not alone. He blushed and rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. "My apologies. I become carried away when I am reminded of the scope of the world I'm pledged to protect."

"That's the way it always fuckin' works, huh?" a voice growled from the entrance. We turned to see Barrett strolling in, squinting and suspicious like always. "We got ways to see and know everything, but they make it so obscure and complicated, only a tiny little group of special people get to be in on it. And in the meantime, the rest of us fuckers are down here fighting, with no way to know what we're really fighting for." He came up to us and smirked; it was the friendliest expression I'd ever seen on him but still pretty scary. "Just the folks I was looking for; lucky me."

We glanced at each other. Lucina held up a card that said, _Us?_

"You three. I been trying to find you. C'mon, I got something to talk to you about."

"Where are we..." I began, but he had already turned around and begun walking away. With more confused looks among ourselves, we followed him.

 **ROTC: CLASSROOM**

As Barrett led us into the new quad and then into the ROTC, I was worried he was taking us to the armory, but instead he led us to a small classroom on the ground floor. He was silent as he walked, and the whole trip was awkward... especially when we passed the tank in the quad and saw Earl standing next to it, his head and arms in some panel, doing some obscure kind of work on the machine insides. Everything felt like just before a storm hits.

Nicole was waiting for us in the classroom, doodling in her sketch pad. She waved casually as we came in. We stood in an awkward circle, and I wondered why we were there. Barrett walked up to the blackboard at the front of the room, picked up a piece of chalk, and wrote FUCK EVERYONE. That did not clear things up for me.

"Yo," Nicole said. "Glad Barrett was able to find everyone."

"Uh, yeah," I replied. "He said he had something to talk to us about."

"We all got a problem," Barrett stated. "Two problems, really. One, that hanging bitch and the army guy think they know how to run things, and it's gonna get more people killed. And two: us here in this room? We're the ones what gonna die."

Rodrigo took a step forward. "Why do you say such things? Do you know of nefarious plans?"

"There's always gonna be nefarious plans," Barrett insisted. "You notice the bear opens up a new area every time someone dies? This shit is on a train track; it's all planned out. At the end, they go from sixteen dangerous kids to four or five easy-to-control little puppies."

Lucina's expression was puzzled as she held up her note: _You're saying Monokuma knows exactly who's going to die and when?_

"Fucker knows enough," Barrett spat. "You gotta be an idiot to not see there's a plan. Little motives and opportunities, handed out like candy to the right people at the right times. Think it's a coincidence we ended up with that psycho bitch in here with us?"

"But why us?" I asked. "Why do you think we're the ones who are going to die?"

"Did y'all read those little fairy tales we all got?" Nicole asked. "Fucked up stuff, right? Me and Barrett were looking through them, and we noticed something." She held up her tablet, scrolling through screens we couldn't see. "Peculiar... Ugly... Insolent... Churlish... Tenacious. Our stories. You notice how they end? With us getting fucked over." She sneered. "Katy gets to, like, live forever, and I'm here melting myself."

"Seems kinda obvious," I mused skeptically. "Do you really think they'd give it away like that?"

"It just makes sense," Barrett said. He indicated Rodrigo and Lucina. "You two trying to break outta the boxes they put you in, right?" And he smirked at me in a way I somehow found a little flattering. "And you. You get a kick from wrecking the bear's trials, I can tell. Just for the sake of wrecking something, even if you don't wanna admit it." He slammed a fist down on a desk with a roar. "That's us! We're the ones what'll pick justice over rules."

"Jane wants to play the game," Nicole continued. "Katy's got all sorts of bullshit ways she thinks things have to go. The DJ's got an animal in him, but he only wants to rein it in. Earl and Ashley I don't even have to talk about. These are the bad guys. At the end of the day, they're the ones that'll hold fast to the way things have always been, even while everyone's drowning around them."

Lucina held up a note: _What about Giuseppi and Juliet?_

"Oi, fuck Juliet," Barrett grunted. "And the soldier's one of us at heart, but he wouldn't come to this meeting, so fuck him too."

Rodrigo held up a hand. "Please... friends, give me a moment. I do sympathize with your overall message, but to make our classmates into enemies is dangerous."

Barrett started to respond, "They're already your..." but Nicole held up a hand and he stopped. He snorted and nodded to her, letting her speak.

"We're not going that far," she said. "We just wanted to get everyone together to make sure we found a way to watch each other's backs. The others don't know it, but they got the Man on their side. All we got is each other."

Lucina and I shared a skeptical look, but I sighed and shrugged. "Fair enough. I don't have the feeling Monokuma really wants me to survive, either. As long as we don't go out of our way to increase tensions, a little extra safety can't hurt."

"Indeed, especially with a trained protector such as myself!" Rodrigo agreed. "I will continue to protect everyone, of course, but I will also support our common goal!"

Lucina frowned. She held up a note that said, _Does this mean you think one of the others is the mastermind?_

"Um, duh," Nicole replied. "But even if it's one of us, who cares? What's it change?"

Lucina kept frowning, but after a moment she sighed and nodded her head.

"Fuck yeah!" Barrett yelled. "We are going to fuckin' kill them all!"

"Whoa hey," I yelped, alarmed. "Wait, what? We just said..."

"It's a figure of speech!" Barrett defended.

Rodrigo started to talk, but at that very inconvenient moment, the door to the classroom opened. Rocky stood there, looking a little unsettled.

"Oi, private meeting!" Barrett shouted.

Rocky held up his hands. "Um, yeah, I don't know what you all got going on here, but I, uh, found something in this building. I think you should check it out."

"Ugh, is it just the room with all the weapons?" Nicole moaned, rolling her eyes. "Get with it, DJ, everyone already knows about that."

"Um, no. Seriously, you'll want to see this." Rocky beckoned us and walked away without another word. Barrett grumbled about it, but all of us followed him.

 **ROTC: HALLWAY**

Rocky led us to the end of a hallway on the ground floor. There was a trash can lying on its side, which he gestured at casually. "I was kicking the shit out of that thing, and something happened," he said.

"Uh, why were you kicking a trash can?" I asked.

"Because the goddamn thing pissed me off," he replied, again very casually. But he went past it and pointed at the wall, near the floor.

We gathered around. There was a rectangular hole, about the size of small TV screen. It led to a sloping, smooth chute that appeared to open up into a larger, lit-up space; I could make out a concrete floor, a white wall, and the edge of something metal and cube-shaped with a single, green light on it.

"When the trash can hit that spot, it just... opened up," Rocky explained.

"What the hell is down there?" Nicole asked. "This building doesn't have a basement, right?"

"No," Barrett answered. "That ain't..."

"Wait, shh!" Rodrigo hissed quickly. Barrett glared, but we all complied; we huddled in silence around the open hole. I wasn't sure what Rodrigo meant, but after a few moments, I could hear it, coming from the space down below.

It was clearly Monokuma's voice, quiet but getting louder. He seemed to be... singing.

"...like nothing's wrong. Just get ready fi' work work work work work. He said me haffi work work work work work. He see me do me work work work work work..."

I found myself unable to really react.

Lucina held up a card for us all to see. It said, _You have got to be kidding me._

* * *

 _FACT 7. The weapons in the armory are easy for even untrained people to use, but Monokuma will expose the identity of anyone who takes one._

 _FACT 8. As suggested by Ashley, we cataloged all the weapons and will check several times a day to make sure none are missing._

 _FACT 9. There is serious tension brewing between Ashley/Earl and Nicole/Barrett._

 _FACT 10. Monokuma enlisted Juliet to write all of our personal histories in the form of fairly tales. Everyone is a prince or princess except for Giuseppi, who's a pauper._

 _FACT 11. The fifth floor of the science building is a literal maze of huge computer modules. You have to walk through this to access the ladder to the roof._

 _FACT 12. The roof of the science building is for astronomy. There is a large telescope dome, rows of telescopes on swivels, and lots of modern computers._

 _FACT 13. Nicole and Barrett recruited me, Lucina, and Rodrigo to be on some kind of anti-rules squad._

 _FACT 14. Rocky accidentally opened up a panel in the ROTC hallway. It led to a sloping chute, which opened up to a room with computer-looking things in it. Monokuma was down there._

 _FACT 15. Monokuma likes Rihanna._


	24. Topics in Cosmology, Part C

We just stared down at the passage in silence for a few moments, Monokuma's oddly lilting song drifting out. After a few moments, Nicole suddenly stood up and raised her eyes to the ceiling, calling out, "Youuuu need toooo get done done done done at work come over..."

"Agh!" Monokuma yiped simultaneously from the room below and from the loudspeaker above us. We heard him scampering below as the voice from above continued, "What! How are you... what!"

"Do you have secret doors all around?" Rodrigo asked. "Is this how you appear seemingly out of nowhere?"

"No! Ignore any secret passages you may or may not have found! They are not meant to be part of the killing game college experience!"

I examined the panel. My head would fit through, but it was way too small for my shoulders to make it; Monokuma would be a tight fit, but if he was squishy, he'd go through easily. "That makes sense," I said to Rodrigo. "He just dashes over to wherever the escape hatch is and the door closes right behind him, and unless we're looking right at it, we wouldn't see."

"Oi, what the fuck are you doing down there?" Barrett called into the passage.

"I'm not down here!" The Monokuma below called, waving his little arms at us from the room below. "I don't live in this body; I live in the cloud!" He shook his fists. "Wait there!" And he darted away.

"Are those computers down there?" Barrett asked, trying to look closer. "Looks like mainframes. High-tech big-business shit." He smirked and glanced at the ceiling. "You live in the cloud, do ya?"

"Ack, no!" the voice called from the loudspeaker. "I live in you! I'm the evil in your hearts!"

Barrett glanced up at Nicole. "You thinking what I'm thinking?" he grunted. "A.I. like that needs lots of storage space. Big mainframes." He chuckled. "I fuckin' knew this army building was important."

"Stop theorizing!" Monokuma's voice called from down the hallway. He rounded the corner and dashed forward towards us, panting. "Move, children!" He ran up to the panel and began pulling at it and whacking the side with his paw.

After a few seconds of vain struggling, he glared back at us over his shoulder. "Well, you broke it!" he snapped. "I should have known your idiot generation was never taught to respect other people's secret passages!"

"So it is a secret passage?" I asked.

"No!" Monokuma snapped. "It's a necessary pedagogical tool, and also shut up!"

He pointed a threatening claw at us. "Don't think about anything!" he snapped. "Stop! Just murder!" He jumped into the passage and, indeed, squished his body so he slid through quickly. He landed on the floor of the room below, shook a fist at us, and ran off.

Barrett just laughed loudly. "That science building got a chem lab, right?"

"Uh, yes," I replied. "But Jane's always in there."

"Fuck 'er!" Barrett yelled. "She's gonna have to make room for me. I got to whip up some goodies." Grinning maliciously, he walked off down the hall.

"I think he means explosives," Rodrigo said.

I started to reply quickly, then I stopped and sighed. "Thanks," I said.

 **DORM: SAYA'S ROOM**

I deliberately spent the rest of the day alone, trying to relax. It didn't work.

That night, Murderer's Theater was largely unchanged, but this time, Monokuma wasn't even anywhere to be found. JP leaned against the wall, crying; I could hear his sobs clearly and it was almost more than I could take. Therion ignored him, staring straight forward at me.

Nothing happened for a long time.

Finally, Therion just sighed. "I'm really worried you're not very smart," he said.

I instantly shot awake.

 **STUDENT UNION: CAFETERIA**

Breakfast was again lightly attended... even Bepi, who had suggested daily check-ins, was absent. I found myself sitting with Rodrigo, Lucina, and Katy, which was fine. Rocky sat alone, though Lucina went over to try to talk to him. I didn't hear what he said back, but he looked pretty mad, and he stomped away soon after.

"I fear he's getting worse," Rodrigo said sorrowfully. "I know not what to do... he is a child of the modern age, and thus a mystery to me." He looked around at us hopefully. "Do any of you have insight? Could his fairy tale be affecting him negatively?"

"I think it's mostly what happened with Emily," I replied, nodding to Lucina. "His big outlet is music, and he loved that studio, but now he can't go there without being reminded. He watched those awful videos Juliet made."

Lucina held up a note that said, _We should keep an eye on him and try to reach out more. His story indicated he has violence in his past. I'm concerned he may lose control._

Rodrigo nodded. "The messages in Juliet's fairy tales are obtuse indeed, but I have the same feeling. I myself cannot make hide nor hair of my own story." He glowered. "Insolent, indeed. Trolls and madmen."

"I actually thought the troll thing made sense," I ventured hesitantly. "I know 'insolent' is wrong, but from what you've said of the monks, they did seem like a bunch of trolls."

"'Tis nonsense!" Rodrigo snorted. "Trolls are heathen nature-dwellers, hulking and brutish. The monks indeed stole me away as a babe, but they are educated, civilized Christians! It is no comparison."

"Well uh, I think it might be kind of a pun," I explained. "But you wouldn't have the context. Um, so do you know what the internet is?"

"I have heard the term! It is when a person possesses neither a tinderbox nor a longplum, but something in-between, yes?"

"Uh." All three of us turned bright red from that, and Katy clearly was trying to keep from bursting into laughter. "...No, that's something else. The internet is a... well, just think about it as a way for people to communicate across long distances, immediately. I can write something, and someone way across the world can read it."

"Hmm." He frowned in thought. "Like the messages we receive from Monokuma?"

"Yeah! Exactly. That's the internet." He smiled in understanding, and I smiled back. "So, there's a thing people do on the internet which is to just... screw with people. Lying and saying ridiculous things just to upset everyone. And that's called being a troll. And, uh... it kind of seems like that's a lot of what the monks were doing to do. I can't think of another reason they'd do half the things you've said, like teach you English and say it was Spanish."

Rodrigo paused, then sighed. "Indeed, much of their behavior appeared to have no true theological backing, upon examination. I often assumed it was a test, or that I misunderstood the scriptures. I'm unsure if I find this a relief or a horror."

Katy looked like she wanted to say something, but she was distracted by Ashley strolling into the cafeteria. We all found it pretty distracting. That's because Ashley... was _smiling_.

She was coming frighteningly close to skipping as she moved towards the food and grabbed herself an apple. She looked to us, beaming, and gave a friendly wave. Then she glided back out of the room.

We sat in shock for a moment. Eventually Lucina scratched out a note: _That was the scariest thing I've ever seen._

"Uh, yeah," I agreed. "Anyone know what that was?"

"No," Katy replied hesitantly. "But that reminds me that I have something I probably should tell you all about." She blushed slightly as we all looked at her, but she kept going. "So, apparently Rocky told Earl that Barrett and Nicole gathered all of you to have some secret meeting. So last night, Earl and Ashley got all of the rest of us together... me and Jane and Rocky... and they looked at the passage Rocky found and talked about what to do."

"Just you three?" Rodrigo asked. "What about Friend Giuseppi?"

"Giuseppi wouldn't come," Katy said. "Earl seemed kind of annoyed about it, actually."

I couldn't help rolling my eyes. "They're like overtly trying to form sides now. This is awful."

"Yeah, I mean." Katy looked down at the table. "They were making a lot of sense. I am afraid of what Barrett might do. But the whole thing puts me really on edge."

Lucina held out a piece of paper, giving me and Rodrigo a stern look: _Barrett and Nicole say they want to make things fair, but they were more excited about destroying the ROTC. They think the secret passage means Monokuma's A.I. is stored there._

Katy took a deep breath. "Do you think so, too?"

Lucina held up a new paper, _I'm skeptical. But I won't miss that building._

Katy nodded. "Yeah. Earl just got really excited and aggressive about his tank. He said it was really important that he get it running, and once he did, we'd be able to escape. He just wanted us to promise we wouldn't let anyone stop him from fixing it, and we'd support him, as our leader."

"Do you think the tank will indeed be our key to freedom?" Rodrigo asked.

"...No," Katy said. "I don't think Rocky or Jane did, either, but why not let him try? But Earl was acting... weird. Kind of stern and... I don't know, just weird." She shuddered slightly. "Rocky took him off to see that secret panel, and when they got back, he was all fired up about the tank. I think knowing about that passage spooked him somehow."

"What about Friend Ashley?" Rodrigo asked. "This does not explain why her mien would be so changed."

Katy shrugged. "Don't know. They stayed together after the rest of us left, to make a specific plan about the tank. Maybe something happened then."

I took a deep breath, putting a hand through my hair. "Earl's going to have a tank and Barrett's going to have all sorts of explosives. I don't know how to stop either of them."

 _And there's still the weapons in the armory,_ Lucina wrote.

Katy held up a hand. "Well... okay, so we're all in danger, but none of the weapons on the table are very, uh, subtle, right? How could you kill someone with a tank and people won't figure it out?"

"Friend Earl is very clever," Rodrigo said darkly. "As is Friend Barrett." He looked around at all of us, setting his jaw firmly. "The explosives must be developed in the Sciences building, and the tank is nearby. I suggest you all stay away from that area as much as possible, and you tell the same to Friend Jane and Friend Rocky. I will defend my classmates to the death, but I fear our four... leaders are courting terrible risk. I could not abide if any of the rest of you were in danger as well."

"Rodrigo..." I began, but he stood up and placed a fist against his chest.

"I must go do what I can do maximize the safety of all involved. I will show them the good that can come of trolls!" And ignoring our protests, he stormed out of the room.

 **FRAT HOUSE: MAIN ROOM**

I checked the schedule for Juliet Duty, and I saw that I was supposed to bring her lunch, and my partner was Katy. She smiled bashfully at me when we met up to gather the food and we waved goodbye to Lucina. I felt like I hadn't seen Katy one-on-one in forever, which wasn't deliberate but probably wasn't accidental either. I liked Katy... she was sweet and friendly... but something just felt complicated with her. She lived so openly, in a way I couldn't help but envy, but (and I cursed myself when I noticed a very Barrettesque thought) she just had so many arbitrary, weird rules.

The actual feeding process was easy and uneventful. Juliet apparently had not moved a muscle since I'd seen her last; she just hunkered in the corner, mumbling. We didn't try to talk to her.

When we got out to the party area, we paused for a moment, feeling oddly tense. I prepared to very awkwardly say goodbye, but suddenly her hand darted out and grabbed mine. "Um." She said, blushing and looking down at the ground. "Could we... talk?"

oh my god is she going to

"Sure," I said, very badly feigning comfort. She led me over to the couch, the same one I saw on with her head drunkenly splayed in my lap, and sat primly. I saw next to her, more conscious of my kneecaps than I had ever been before.

She took a deep breath, and I watched her do it. Katy was extremely attractive, obviously, but if she was going to do what I thought she was going to do, the likelihood that I would just scream and run from the room was pretty high.

She looked at me very directly with a shy smile, and she said, "Hey, so, can we friend-zone each other?"

I blinked, feeling both extremely relieved and heartbrokenly disappointed at the same time. "Uh?"

"Look, you're..." She paused. "I know girl-tension, and I think we have girl-tension. And that's great; girl-tension is my favorite thing. But right now, I need a friend. Just a simple friendship with someone I can trust, or I'm going to go completely insane."

I was in no place to plan what I was going to do, so I just asked the first question on my mind. "Why do you trust me?"

She tilted her head. "What?"

"No... I'm glad! It means a lot that you trust me, it's just... why? I'm kind of learning I might not be the most trustworthy person."

To my surprise, she laughed. "Angel, I have no idea why I trust you! I just do. Intuition. Maybe that's dumb, but it's dumber to use all my energy fighting my own impulses, right?"

I blinked. I realized I had filed her away as someone unlikely to surprise me, and it struck me what a bad idea that was. "All right. Yeah. Friends."

She let out a breath. "Oh, good. Thanks." She put her hands on her hips, instantly transforming into someone confident and certain. "Yeah! My first college friendship!" she declared, nodding to me. "So, listen, these fairy tales we all got? Someone is really definitely going to get killed, and it's because no one's talking about them!"

"Hm," I replied, uncertain. "What do you mean?"

"Saya, please." Her gaze was serious. "Don't play dumb. I tried to talk to Lucina about it and she played dumb. These stories are really, really personal and uncomfortable. I don't know what yours means, but I know it means something. Barrett and Earl and all the rest wouldn't be acting like this if something wasn't setting them off."

I frowned. "Okay. Yes, it touches on a sore spot."

"Right! So... so this means the mastermind... and Juliet!... know the stuff that hurts us." She idly brought a hand up to the locket around her neck; I don't think she was even aware she was doing it. "And we all have this really sharp reminder of bad history, and it's going to make everyone just lose it." She looked away for a moment, distracted, then focused back on me. "So I want to tell you about it. Get it out, so it's not so huge."

I nodded, biting my lip. I really did want to support her, but I was also very much not hoping this was meant to be reciprocal.

She took a deep breath. "Okay. So, my story was right: I have been lonely. I've had friends, and my parents were always supportive. But... it's one of those things where I always knew I was different, even if I didn't know why. And my dad encouraged me to write about it, because he knew I liked reading, and... that was my first story. I was ten, I think."

She smiled down at her lap. "And so I wrote and wrote and wrote, and it was great. But then I got a letter and... it was like the Italian Renaissance, or something: this rich person loved my work and wanted to sponsor me. I'd go live with her and write what she wanted. And my parents would get a stipend, too. It was amazing." She paused, shuddering a little. "So I went there and... it was the biggest house I've ever seen! A hedge maze in the back of it; you think I'm making that up, but I'm not. Suits of armor lining the entrance hallway, the whole deal. And this middle-aged man and woman opened the door and they told me my sponsor was waiting to see me."

She clicked open her locket and held it out to me. There was a photo of an ethereally beautiful girl, looking almost like a phantom. "Mackenzie. She was the couple's daughter, just a year older than me. And she was sick, really really sick. They let her sponsor me because my stories made her happy, and she probably wasn't going to..." Katy stopped talking for a moment. She snapped the locket closed and rested her hands in her lap. "Anyway, she was actually pretty cold to me at first. I still went to school in the area, but I spent a lot of my time writing what she wanted. I was worried it'd be stifling, but my work just got better and better."

The tears began then. "I was there for a year. And it was really slow at first. But over time, more and more, I came to realize that my heart was singing when I was with Mackenzie. When she opened up, she was so kind and smart and delicate. We collaborated a couple of times, and one night, I was sitting on her bed, and she just put her hand on top of mine and my heart was beating like crazy! And she said 'I have something I have to tell you, sensei..."

I held up a hand. "Wait, sensei?"

"Hm? Oh, her parents were Japanese." Katy settled back into the rhythm of her story. "Anyway, her hand was on top of mine, and she said, 'You're so cool and strong, like a prince! Even though we're both girls, I can't control my feelings for you, sensei...'"

She hugged herself, a sad smile on her face. "The next two weeks were... wonderful. We just sat together... I wanted to kiss her, but it was her first kiss, you know? She was so pure and innocent and..." She sighed. "Anyway, one afternoon, I was in school, and I got a call from her mom. Mackenzie... wasn't doing well. I left school immediately and ran to her house and... she was really pale, but she just brightened up when she saw me. Her parents left us alone, and... sitting there next to her, I knew it was the time." Katy was fully crying now, tears streaming down her face like rivers. "I leaned in and we kissed, and... and then she told me she wanted to rest. So I left and the next morning..."

Suddenly Katy lunged forward, throwing her arms around me, sobbing. "Saya, I miss her so much! I loved her and it just didn't matter, she's gone and I couldn't..."

I held her for a couple of minutes as she just wept. I thought I'd feel awkward comforting someone like this, but the way she held on to me, it felt normal and natural.

Eventually, she pulled away, sniffling and wiping her eyes. She laughed awkwardly. "Um. Sorry."

"It's okay." I felt warm. "I'm so sorry you had to go through that."

"Well... that's the thing though," she said. "That's what my fairy tale is about. That was over a year ago and... all I want is to go back and live forever in that moment, in our kiss. It was so perfect, and I feel like nothing else could ever be real to me ever again. And reading about it... that really scared me. The mastermind is even better at manipulating than I thought."

"Wait, you think this story could make you kill someone?" I asked, frowning.

"No. I don't think that was the point. But... it kind of feels like it might make me not care if I die. It could make me an easy target." She took a deep breath and gave me a sharp gaze, makeup streaked but still looking absolutely gorgeous. "So that's why I had to get it out. I had to say it out loud. Saya, I'm mourning and I'm broken and I'm sad, but I don't want to die." She glanced up to one of the video cameras and raised her voice. "You hear me? I don't want to die! And I'm not going to let it just happen here."

I nodded. "I don't want you to die, either. You're my friend."

Her smile was the most genuine facial expression I'd seen in days. "Thanks, Saya." She paused slightly, looking down at her feet, then she glanced back up at me. "...What about you?"

I froze. "Uh. Me?"

"Yeah. Your fairy tale. Anything you... want to talk about there?"

"No," I answered instinctively, and then I forced myself to take a deep breath and try to relax. "I mean. Mine's not really as clear as yours." She just kept looking at me expectantly, so I swallowed down my apprehension and continued. "My dad never really understood me, and he kinda started to think I was being confusing on purpose, like... to mess with him or something. And after my parents got divorced six years ago, he fought for partial custody, but when I stayed with him..." I trailed off; this was harder to discuss than I'd thought. "He would just pretend he didn't know me. I'd talk to him, and he'd just get up and walk out of the room."

"What?" Katy's voice was surprisingly appalled. "How could he... why?! Why would he do that?"

I shrugged. "He thought I was trying to make his life harder. I eventually just told my mom he didn't want me there anymore, and he never said anything about it." I looked down at the floor for a moment, then I sighed. "I mean, I do make things harder on everyone. No one here has really noticed, because there's murders, but under normal circumstances, I'd just be confusing and boring everyone." I forced myself to humorlessly chuckle. "I'll talk about chess for hours. I drive everyone away."

A shockingly loud and sharp sound startled me, and I looked at Katy. She had stomped her enormous stiletto heel on the floor, and she was pointing at me furiously. "No!" she snapped. "This is the whole point! This is exactly what the mastermind wants!" She leaned over and wrapped me in an anaconda-like embrace. "I won't let you fall for it. You're saying dumb things you know aren't really true, and I won't let a friend just keep hurting herself!"

My cheeks felt cool... was I really crying about this now? "The first day he acted like that, he... took me out to ice cream, which was something we did when I was a kid. And he ordered and sat down and brought me the ice cream and then just left." I was nearly in sobs by this point; why was I so upset? "He just drove home and left me there and he never talked to me again."

I suddenly noticed my arms were wrapped tightly around Katy, and I tried to talk but couldn't, my chest was heaving and I almost couldn't breathe. I don't know how long we stayed like that, but it was a long time.

 **MAIN QUAD**

As we headed back to the dorm, we were intercepted by Nicole, who waved us over. However, when we got up to her, she just smiled at me. "Hi, Saya!"

Katy and I glanced at one another uncomfortably. "Uh, hi Nicole!" she ventured.

"Hi, Saya!" Nicole repeated.

Sighing, Katy waved goodbye to me and walked off. We were on "opposing teams," after all.

When she was gone, Nicole smirked at me. "Hittin' that, huh? Awesome! Don't trust her, though."

"Ack!" I waved my hands in protest. "No! We just..."

"Hey, got something to show you." Nicole began walking away even as she spoke. "Meet you in the chem lab, okay? It's stuff you gotta know if you want to stay safe."

I tried arguing, but she was too far away.

 **SCIENCE BUILDING: CHEM LAB**

Remembering what Rodrigo said about staying away from the new quad, I was hesitant about doing what Nicole suggested. But, I reasoned that ignorance wasn't any safer, so after a few minute's thought, I decided to follow her.

As I walked into the lab, I noticed Jane was standing on one side of the room, looking into a small vial of murky liquid, while Barrett and Nicole were on the other side. I was heartened when Jane turned to acknowledge me instead of just ignoring that I came in, but she squashed that quickly. "No," she said, pointing at the door. "Lab coat, goggles."

I paused. "Um."

"Lab coat, goggles!" she iterated sternly. Still confused, I walked to the door she was pointing at.

 **SCIENCE BUILDING: LOCKER ROOM**

I found myself in a fairly large locker room, like I'd see at a gym. I noticed Jane's trench coat hung up on a wall, near an open locker that contained her high-heeled shoes. Barrett's own patch-covered jacket had been casually tossed onto the floor.

I saw a row of lab coats hanging up next to large, clear goggles. I took down one of each and slipped them on, noticing that two nearby lockers were open, both of which contained clothes that didn't look like they belonged to anyone in the lab. Leaning closer, I realized they were both identical copies of Earl's uniform: the elaborate top, the dark pants, and even the heavy boots.

That seemed odd, but I didn't want to snoop, so I just headed back into the lab.

 **SCIENCE BUILDING: CHEM LAB**

I stepped out of the locker room and presented myself to Jane, who just snorted and got back to work. I cautiously stepped closer to her. "...Hey."

She looked down at me, somehow intimidating even with her goofy-looking goggles. "Yes?"

"Um." I felt like I was a foot tall, but I kept going. "Just wanted to come say hi."

"Hi." She refocused on her work.

I stood there awkwardly. "Um, and..."

She raised an eyebrow. "And?"

I couldn't help looking down at the floor. "And, well, to check up on you. I don't think you've talked to anyone really since the trial, and I wanted to make sure you're okay."

"I'm fine," she said coldly. "I've been working."

"Oh. What... is your project?"

"Something really important," she replied. "Something for me."

"Oh." This was not going well. "Are you..."

"Saya." She glared at me, terrifying and tall. "I literally just said this was important, and you keep trying to talk to me?" She literally turned her back on me, pointedly focusing on her liquids.

I wasn't sure what to do for a moment, but luckily I heard Nicole's voice calling. "Yo, Saya, over here. Come over to the human being side of the room!"

I walked over to them. Nicole somehow looked amazing... I think she had altered her lab coat so it fit her better, and her goggles were decorated with little flower-shaped designs. I noticed something else as I got closer.

"Huh. Does anyone else smell that?"

Nicole looked around, sniffing. "Smell what?"

"It smells like... flowers and sulfur."

"Oh! That's us." Nicole held her arm out right in my face, which was alarming, but I was able to catch a quite lovely whiff of springtime flowers. "Fashion isn't just about looks! It encompasses all the senses. Your odor should fit your whole presentation." She gestured over to the middle of the room, where there was a box of strange-looking plant life. "I got Jane to make those and extract the essence for me! Don't you think she did a great job?"

"I did it so she'd go away," Jane called out, not looking over at us. "It didn't work."

I actually did notice that the flowery smell did match Nicole's style, and I couldn't argue with the appropriateness of Barrett smelling like sulfur. "Hm. What should I smell like?"

Even before I finished the question, I knew I shouldn't have asked it. Nicole regarded me carefully for a moment, then snapped her fingers. "Oh, you know that smell you get, like, when you're in a parking lot in the summer and it just barely starts to rain? That smell."

That actually wasn't as bad as I'd thought, but I decided to change the subject before she started commenting more about my style choices. "Um... so, why are you two hanging out in the chemistry lab?"

"I'm making some of my little treats," Barrett answered, grinning. "Wish the creepy bird wasn't here, but can't make her leave."

"You're a nightmare and I hate you," Jane said, not even turning around.

Barrett gave a two-finger salute to the back of her head, then looked back at me. "I can finally get some work done here. Before I was only able to make little cherry bombs. But now? It's all-you-can-fucking-eat for destruction." He waved his hands over the table in front of him, which contained numerous vials and flasks of liquid.

I took a step backwards. "Uh, that's all explosives?"

He paused then snorted. "It's safe," he snapped. "I'm a professional! Look, the hard part of demolition ain't blowing shit up. It's easy to blow shit up; any idiot can make an unstable chemical. The hard part is not blowing up everything else. You gotta make something you can set off easily, without making something easy to set off. Get me?"

I blinked. "...No."

"Aggh." He slammed his hand on the table in frustration. "Like C-4. You know what C-4 is? The plastic explosive? Putty; you shape it and plant it and boom. But if it went off easy, you couldn't shape it without blowing your fingers off, yeah? It'll blow up, but it takes a lot. So you trigger it by setting off a really unstable substance protected by a complex trigger. Start the trigger, small amount of unstable shit explodes; that's enough to set off the much bigger amount of C-4."

"Hm. I think I see," I replied, nodding slowly, my mind racing to catch up with the fact that Barrett was Bill-Nye-ing me.

"Yeah, but it's fucking stupid!" he suddenly shouted. "Stupid and complicated and stupid!" Huffing, he indicated some glass bottles in front of him, filled with transparent liquids. "So I got a better way. My three little buddies." He pointed to each bottle in turn. "I call 'em Sugar, Spice, and Everything Nice. Go on, take a whiff." At my very reasonable hesitation, he narrowed his eyes. "It's safe. Oi, you trust me, right?"

I wasn't sure what else to do, so I leaned in and quickly smelled over the Sugar bottle. Indeed, it was cloying-sweet, like vanilla cake. Still making shaky eye contact with him, I sniffed the second bottle: it was sour and sharp, like pickled ginger. Finally, I smelled the third bottle; I paused and raised an eyebrow at him. "...Chocolate?"

"This is fuckin' important knowledge I just gave you," he snapped. "You tell them apart by the smell. And it's really important you tell them apart. Because on their own?" He picked up a bottle, covered the mouth with his palm, and shook it violently. Nothing happened. "...They don't do shit." He set the bottle down and looked over all three of them with paternal pride. "But put all three of 'em together? Slightest little thing sets 'em off."

"That seems... dangerous," I remarked.

"Uh, yeah," Nicole replied, off to the side. "That's the point. Boom."

"Boom!" Barrett agreed joyfully. "Ain't no way to be safe during a revolution. But the closest you can get is knowing everything I'm telling ya, you hear?"

"Tell her about the fiery stuff," Nicole suggested.

"There's fiery stuff?" I asked. "This isn't already the fiery stuff?"

Barrett laughed like I'd told him a clever pun. He stepped over to a new pair of containers: a petri dish filled with a white slime and a large cylinder filled with a black liquid. "Burning and blasting are different. Check it out." He pulled a matchbook out of his pocket, lit one, and before I even could tell what he was doing, he threw the lit match into the petri dish. A stream of blue fire instantly burst out from the black liquid; I could feel the heat from even where I was standing. There was a surprisingly huge amount of smoke for such a small fire; it smelled charred and charcoaly.

"Jesus!" I yelled.

With no response to me but a malicious grin, Barrett dipped his right hand into the black liquid. Then, without another word, he thrust his hand directly into the flame.

I instantly wanted to grab his arm and pull it out of danger, but his smile didn't waver. "Lasts at least an hour, full heat protection, no side effects." He paused. "Well okay, it'll give you gangrene if you don't wash it off." He walked to a nearby sink and began rinsing his hand. "Fire and protection," he called over his shoulder. "Remember this shit, Saya, might save your fucking life."

"We don't know what's going on with that weird passage in the ROTC, but there's something there the mastermind wants to keep away from us," Nicole said.

"This whole fucking show's a military operation," Barrett sneered. "Of course that building's dead important. You want to break the hierarchy, ain't nothing more important than the hangin' army."

Suddenly, a loud alarm started going off, startling me. Sprinklers on the ceiling began spurting water all around. They failed to extinguish the fire on the table, but they did make the flames smaller.

"Ah, fuck," Barrett grumbled. He glanced over at Nicole, who was not even reacting to the water or alarm (Jane, too, I noticed, just kept doggedly working, pretending nothing was happening). "Babe, head to the store room and fetch me a tarp or something, will ya?"

"Sure thing." Nicole hopped off the table she was sitting on. "Come on, Saya, let's get out of the rain." Without waiting for me, she headed out of the room. I didn't mind following her out.

 **EAST QUAD**

We stepped out of the building, both drenched. Nicole somehow still looked amazing, though her flowery smell had been washed off. I felt a little disappointed.

We headed toward the ROTC, where Nicole explained this 'store room' was located. On the way, we passed the tank: Earl was sitting next to it, opening something up with a huge wrench. He was wearing engineer's overalls instead of his usual uniform; I realized he must be using the locker room in the science building to change.

When he saw us, his expression wavered for a split-second before broadening into his typical confident grin. He waved us over to him. "Comrades!" he bellowed as we approached. "It's a delight!"

"Hi, Earl," I said, trying not to react to much to Nicole's rather chilly wave. "Do you... really expect to get that thing running!"

He roared with laughter. "Indeed! I will get it running and more! This will be the key to our escape!" He pointed to the edge of the quad, next to the ROTC. There was just a tall, grey wall staring back at us. "It is just a matter of simply forcing our way through!"

"Uh, no it isn't," Nicole said, rolling her eyes. She picked up an unused wrench next to Earl, took a few steps closer to the wall, and tossed the wrench towards it. Instantly, enormous guns and cannons emerged from the top of the wall like panicked prairie dogs, pointing directly at the wrench, as it lay there, inert. After a few seconds of the wrench not moving, the weapons receded.

"There's no challenge that can't be overcome through army ingenuity!" Earl asserted. "Those security systems will be no match for my tank when I'm done improving it!"

I was very much not convinced, but I decided it was best to just nod. He grinned back. "I will keep you updated! When I am done, we will all escape from this terrible place together. As one unit." There was a very brief pause, weird and uncomfortable.

"You're way more gung-ho than you were yesterday," I observed.

He nodded, suddenly thoughtful. "Yes, I was bothered by those stories we received. But then I resolved: the vile mastermind wants us to be bothered, so I looked to my story as an inspiration! It was a reminder that I work best trusting my impulses as a leader and a man! It is better for me to act than to second-guess."

I couldn't keep a smirk away. "Is that why Ashley was in such a good mood when I saw her earlier?"

"I can neither confirm nor deny any responsibility for that!" he replied, but he had a smile on his own face. Suddenly, he brandished his huge wrench. "Back to work! It was excellent to speak with you!"

I noticed Nicole had already started walking to the ROTC. I waved goodbye at Earl and followed her.

 **ROTC: STORE ROOM**

Nicole didn't say anything as she led me to the store room, but I could tell she was fuming. When we got there, she just mumbled to herself and I took the place in. It was smaller than the arsenal, but there was a huge variety of stuff cluttering it all over. I saw wet suits and flippers, seemingly random uniforms, helmets, tools, and esoteric pieces of equipment.

"Goddamn hypocrite," Nicole snapped, whapping a hand out at a gas mask that was hanging on the wall next to her. "Do you believe him? 'We'll all escape together.' After having a secret meeting with just half of us? He just wants to be this big hero, but going along pretending like it's out of some kind of team unity bullshit. Makes me sick."

I frowned. "I... also don't really understand why he had a meeting of his... team, if it's about saving everyone. I definitely don't think that just trusting him is enough to get us out of here. But..."

She raised a skeptical eyebrow. "...but?"

"Well. I'm just surprised you're all up in arms about this."

"What the fuck?!" She glared at me, hands on her hips. "This shit is my life. My family gets fucked over a hundred times a day because of people like him!"

"No, I know!" I said, holding my hands up passively. "I'm just surprised that you're being so... overt. Because didn't you tell me a while ago that your plan was to hang out in the background and not make waves and just survive?"

"Oh." She relaxed instantly and laughed. "Well, yeah! I'm still doing that."

"Aren't you... like, planning a revolution?"

"Psht, I told you, Saya," she said breezily. "I'm good at doing two things at once."

I paused. "It just seems hard to lead a revolution and blend into the background at the same time."

"No way," she replied, waving her hand reassuringly. "Look, Barrett's hot as shit when he gets turned on, and his politics line up with mine, but you think that's the only reason I'm all paired up with him? Dude's nuts. He blows shit up for a living. I can't think of a better way to blend into the background than to stand next to the psycho fire monster."

"Oh." I rubbed my chin in thought. "That makes a whole lot of sense."

"Uh, yeah, you learn how to survive where I'm from." She paused then frowned. "Well, if you're lucky you do. That's why I'm here, you know? All my family knows how to do is survive. With what I was supposed to get here, I was going to put them in a place where they could learn to live. Shoulda known it was just another way to fuck us over."

"Hm," I mused. "Is that what your story was about?"

"Oh, I dunno, I didn't really read it," she said quickly. She turned and walked over to a blue tarp, lying folded in the corner. "Here, gimme a hand with this, will you?"

 **GYMNASIUM: YOGA STUDIO 1**

I spent the rest of the afternoon and evening with Lucina. We went to the gym and tried to meditate; I found it easier than I ever had before, even though the fact that she was sitting next to me was pretty distracting. Was I really super-closeted, like, five days earlier? I felt like the gayest person who'd ever been born.

However, she was apparently not satisfied with the meditation process for herself. She sighed, shook her head, and held out a note that said, _I think I'm too tense. I'm really worried someone's going to get killed._

"Me too," I replied, worried about the fact that I was less stressed out about that than she was. I was afraid there would be a murder, but a brutal and selfish part of me felt pretty confident that my allies, so to speak, would be safe. I wasn't particularly concerned Bepi or Lucina or Katy or Rodrigo was in danger. Of course I didn't want any of the others to die, but they weren't... my people.

I clutched my chest, anxiety and guilt beginning to rise up. Maybe it was just human nature to split people into two groups, the white pieces and the black pieces. I'd totally fallen into the same dangerous trap Barrett and Earl had fallen into.

Lucina noticed my state, and I felt her hand rest lightly on my shoulder. I placed my own hand on hers and smiled gratefully back at her... but then something else occurred to me. My in-group wasn't exactly the same as hers. "Are you worried about Rocky?"

She nodded. _I can't get through. He's just stewing._

I wasn't sure what to say to that, so we just sat together. "Maybe try to talk to him about his fairy tale," I suggested. "They're clearly meant to be upsetting." She just looked at the floor, discomfort stretched upon her face. I decided to go for it. "Um... speaking of which, if there was anything about your story that hurt or was on your mind, I'm here. I'd like to help, if I can."

She glanced up at me, surprised. After a moment's hesitation, she scratched out, _It's just what I told you before. I wanted to make music, but every sound I've ever made is just ugly. Since I was an infant._

I frowned at her. "I don't... I just can't understand how that's possible. How could every sound..."

She suddenly slapped her hand down against the floor, shocking me into silence. With a glare, she held up a new note, _I know my own life, Saya._

I stared back at her in legitimate shock. Eventually I just said, "Okay," and we left it at that.

 **DORM: MAIN LOBBY**

Things settled back into a pleasant comfort, though, and we eventually decided to head back to the dorm. As we stepped inside, a sudden shriek interrupted the mood. The sound came from the computer lab, and we dashed towards it.

 **DORM: COMPUTER LAB**

We found Ashley and Nicole standing on opposite sides of the room, glaring at one another. A computer keyboard lay broken on the floor, and Nicole rubbed her elbow, as if it was sore. "Oh my god, what happened?!" I shouted.

"What happened is, this bitch is crazy!" Nicole snapped. "She just whacked me with a keyboard! It hurt like fuck!"

Ashley barely moved; her eyes just trained on Nicole. "Saya. Lucina. I was alone in here, practicing my typing, and Nicole came into the room. She was acting strangely and she began moving towards me."

"I was saying hi!" Nicole yelled. "Goddamn it, you looked different than you usually do! You looked happy! I wanted to ask why!"

I raised an eyebrow at Ashley. "I think... I think we should calm down," I said.

"I'm perfectly calm," Ashley insisted. "She was acting strangely, and she began moving towards me." She finally shifted her gaze over to make eye contact with me. "Also, she has a knife."

Lucina and I turned to Nicole, instinctively taking a step away from her. "I don't have a knife," she insisted. "That's crazy. How would you know?"

"She has a knife in the left sleeve of her jacket," Ashley said, turning to glare at Nicole. "Don't you fucking underestimate me. I pay attention. I know if I'm alone with someone who has a weapon. Just because I'm actually smiling for the first time in my fucking life, you thought I'd be an easy target."

Nicole just looked back at her for a moment then grunted in frustration. "I wasn't going to use it!" She slipped the knife out of her sleeve and held it in her hand. It was a small carving knife; shiny and sharp. "This is defense and not offense, anyway. It's like an inch long! To kill someone with it, you'd have to stab them like a million times. I was worried you were going to try to attack me!"

"Wait," I said, my head spinning. "Nicole, why did you think you needed a knife to protect yourself?"

"Uh, because everyone's going nuts?" She pointed at Ashley, looking more irritated by this point than anything else. "Her stupid boyfriend spooked the shit out of me. Like an hour ago he went and found me and like..." She shuddered. "He was like, 'A poor leader rules through fear, so please forgive me if tomorrow night I have to be a poor leader.'"

I felt myself tensing involuntarily. "That is... really ominous."

"I know, right?!" Nicole threw her arms up in frustration. "What the fuck does it even mean?!"

"It means he's going to get us all out of here," Ashley replied pedantically. "He's almost done with his tank, and he doesn't want you or Bomberman to fuck it up."

"That stupid tank," Nicole snorted. "That's never going to work. The defenses will..."

A sudden and furiously loud crashing noise cut her off. We all spun in shock to see a computer monitor smashed into the wall. DJ Rocky had come into the room at some point, and he stood near the broken monitor, panting.

He put his hand against his forehead. I heard him mumble "Goddamn it," and he just staggered out of the room.

Lucina looked at me, and I nodded. She quickly hurried out of the room after him. The rest of us just stood there, too shocked to speak.

 **DORM: SAYA'S ROOM**

Despite the hectic nature of the day, I didn't have dreams that night. It was just a blissful quiet... until it was interrupted by a knock at my door. I groggily sat up and glanced at the clock; almost 4:00 am.

The person knocked again, and I stood and stumbled over to the door. "Who's there?"

"Oi, Saya."

I suddenly felt much more awake. "Barrett?"

"I told you I'd give you one warning." His voice was raspy but sounded amused and playful. "This is it. Stay away from the ROTC tomorrow night." And then silence.

I stayed there by the door, addled and dazed, for at least a full minute, my heart pounding frantically.

* * *

 _FACT 16: The secret chute in the ROTC appears to be a passage for Monokuma to quickly enter or exit the hallway._

 _FACT 17: Barrett and Nicole plan to destroy the ROTC tomorrow night, because they think it will damage or destroy the computers Monokuma is stored on._

 _FACT 18: Rocky told Earl and Ashley about the secret panel, and they gathered the rest of the students (except for Bepi and Juliet) to oppose the group Barrett and Nicole formed._

 _FACT 19: I told Katy a lot, but I was able to keep from telling her everything._

 _FACT 20: Barrett has created three clear liquids he calls Sugar, Spice, and Everything Nice; they are distinguishable by their smell. Alone, they are safe, but if all three are combined, they become extremely explosive._

 _FACT 21: Barrett has also created a white substance that burns very easily and a black gel that can be rubbed on the skin and is completely fireproof._

 _FACT 22: Nicole and Ashley had a confrontation. Nicole has been carrying around a knife, she claims for protection. Ashley apparently can sense when someone's armed._

 _FACT 23: Rocky is not doing well._

 _FACT 24: Earl is confident he can use the tank to escape campus safely, despite the security system. He plans to try tomorrow night._


	25. Topics in Cosmology, Part D

**STUDENT UNION: CAFETERIA**

"So, wait," Katy said. "He showed up around 4:00, right? And he said it was going to be 'tomorrow night.' So... was he counting that as today, or yesterday?"

Lucina scratched out a note, _He did the same thing for me, and I asked him to clarify. He meant he was going to do it tonight._

"I'm relieved you thought to do that," I said. "I was too surprised to do anything until he was gone."

Lucina sighed. _Communicating like this helps me be a little more removed. He seemed pretty annoyed that I interrupted his dramatic moment, actually._

Bepi rolled his eye. "Of course he was. That's what this shit is all really about for him. I've known lots of guys like him, just wanting to know he's having an impact."

"I don't know about that," I said hesitantly. "He seems to really believe all the stuff he says about politics."

"Oh, they always do." Bepi poked irritatedly at his eggs and sausage. "Earl's the same way. Of course he thinks he's doing the right thing. But the real reward is the power."

All four of us sat in silence for a moment. "Is that why you wouldn't join either of the groups, even though they invited you?" I asked. "You thought everyone just wanted power?"

He shrugged. "Not really. I just know it's stupid to ever think you're doing the right thing, so I don't really care who has power."

"You sure acted like you knew what the right thing to do was when you stopped Barrett from hitting Ashley," I pointed out.

He took another bite of his eggs. "Never said I wasn't stupid." He laughed; I'm not really sure why. "Deep down, everyone probably just wants power, like Barrett and Earl and the others." He paused for a moment. "Do you know what conclusion this makes me draw?"

I squinted at him. "Uh. No."

"To Earl is human."

It physically hurt. He stood up. "Okay, I'm not topping that. I think I'm going to go find somewhere to hide for the entire rest of the day. Hope you'll all do the same." He strolled off, totally casual.

Katy sighed. "So, Ashley told me she wanted, uh, 'our side' to have a meeting today. Do you want me to tell you what happens?"

I nodded. "They must know we're all keeping each other informed about all this. Why are they even trying to have secrets?"

Lucina scowled and jotted out a message, _Earl said it himself. It helps them "rule through fear." We all know something is coming, and we can't stop it without doing something drastic._

"I don't... think that's all of it," Katy said timidly. "Maybe Giuseppi's right, but I think Earl really hates splitting the group up like this. Ever since this whole thing started, he's seemed really conflicted. Which is not a word I thought I'd ever associate with him."

We paused, silent and shivering. "So... this is it, I guess," Katy said. "We just wait around for tonight. Maybe Earl gets away. Maybe Barrett destroys Monokuma. Or maybe..." She fell silent for a moment, not wanting to say it. Finally: "...we just let them kill each other."

None of us could think of anything to respond to that.

 **MAIN QUAD**

Lucina and I spent the rest of the morning together. Katy found us later to tell us that the meeting was indeed about Earl's plans to escape in the tank tonight. "I suspect your classmates already know," Ashley had apparently said. "And I'm certain the mastermind knows. We're not asking you to fight in some civil war; we're just asking you to stay alert. Some tasks must be accomplished before we can enact our plan, and we'll need to know if anyone intends to interfere."

Lucina and I sat on the sidewalk, leaning back against the cool wall of the dorm. She hugged her long legs against her chest, her forehead resting on her knees. She looked like she was trying to make herself smaller.

"Are you scared?" I asked.

She nodded.

"Me too." I tilted over and rested my head on her shoulder. "This is so dumb. Those four... the leaders... they're acting like it's some big political difference. Like, do you want weapons anyone can use, or do you want to let one person have all the power? But we don't have any real choice! What can we even do? We can't stop anyone. All we can do is trust, and..." I sighed. "I sound like Bepi."

She pulled away for a moment to scribble out a message, leaning back in after she handed it over. _This is sick, but the one I trust is Monokuma. I don't think he'd let his killing game turn into a free-for-all._

"God." I chuckled humorlessly. "Maybe we should be on Ashley's side after all, if we're relying on that."

We sat in anxious silence for little while. That was when I felt something touching my leg. I looked down. There was a hand with long, delicate fingers resting on my thigh.

I looked back up. Lucina's face was... close. She was slightly above me, her eyes half-lidded but still staring questioningly into mine. Her lips were parted, her breath hot enough to feel. She looked so vulnerable but also so welcoming. I felt this energy just pervading everywhere that I'd never come close to feeling before.

"She wants me," I thought. "She wants to be there for me. She wants me to trust her."

I felt my body stiffen, fear beginning to fill my chest. She noticed my reaction and pulled back, looking surprised... but somehow not surprised, too.

"No..." I tried to say. "Please don't... It's okay." I had to look away from her, so I just cast my gaze down to my lap (which no longer had her hand in it). "It's okay, I promise. I just..."

I had no idea what I even meant to say next, so I felt relieved when the door to the dorm opened a few feet away. Rodrigo stepped out, looking absolutely helpless.

Lucina and I tacitly agreed to let our little situation go for now and focus on him. At least, I hope we did. I stood up and walked over to him. "Um. Hi. Are you all right?"

He shook his head. "I am not. I allowed myself to have hope that a time of silent prayer would lend clarity, but I am more confused than ever. I know not how to protect everyone."

I frowned, glancing back at Lucina. "Maybe... maybe trying to protect everyone isn't the right thing to do. I know you're a paladin, but you can't be expected to protect us from technology that's brand new to you."

"I cannot simply do nothing."

Lucina stepped forward, holding up a card. _Help Rocky._

Rodrigo tilted his head. "Friend Rocky deserves protection, but no more than others."

She looked hesitant; I tried to give her an encouraging smile. I don't know how well it worked, but either way, she quickly scrawled out, _He's at the end of his rope, and I don't know what to do. The rest of us can take care of ourselves, but Rocky's not able to be careful._

Rodrigo considered this in silence for a moment. "Very well," he said. "If he is vulnerable, I am bound to give him extra protection. Friend Lucina, I swear to you that I will keep him from harm!" He placed a fist over his chest and marched off.

"I'm glad you did that," I said.

She held up a note, _thank you._ Then she wrote another one, pausing briefly before showing me, _I think I want to be alone, is that all right?_

I froze. "...Are you okay? Did I make you feel..."

 _It's all right. I'm just tired._

I just looked at her a minute, then I nodded. "I'll see you later?"

She reached out and squeezed my hand, smiling warmly. Then she walked off into the student union.

 **DORM: SAYA'S ROOM**

I went for a run, which didn't help my emotional state like I thought it would, and then I returned to the dorm. I felt frazzled and numb, and I decided that I would try to rest until something happened.

Well, first I went to the student stores and bought a long, rope ladder, just in case I happened to find myself on the fifth floor of a burning building. I also got my stun gun out. I refused to allow myself to be completely helpless.

I set my alarm clock for 10:30 and lay down in bed. Surprisingly, I was exhausted enough to actually fall asleep.

Murderers' Theater was the same, but there was odd static and interference, like a messed-up video stream. Therion talked smoothly about 'narrative' and 'subtext' and 'transportation,' but I couldn't make it out.

But then I looked behind Therion, at JP. There was a figure, distorted and dark, sitting next to him.

A frantic banging at my door woke me suddenly. I bolted upright, looking over at the clock. It was 10:12.

I ran over to the door. "What is it?" I barked.

"Saya." It was Bepi's voice; he sounded shaken. "Juliet is gone."

My chest turned into ice; I felt myself falling. "What?"

"Juliet. Is. Not. There. She escaped."

I opened the door. Bepi stood there with Lucina and Katy. "How?" I asked.

"I don't know; I went to ask her about the pauper thing, and the door was just open. And... I found this." He held up a silver object. I gasped when I realized what it was: a long, sharp icepick. And on the end, a dark stain that was clearly...

"What should we do?" I asked.

"We have to warn everybody," Katy said. "Even if they're going to kill each other anyway. We can't let them just not know she's out somewhere."

"But..." I trailed off, when I saw both Katy and Lucina's expressions.

Bepi sighed. "Yeah, I was already outvoted. But listen." He leaned in, his serious soldier expression carving his face into something scary and fierce. "Stay close. Pay attention to what you smell. And no matter what, do not go near the ROTC. Agreed?"

We all nodded.

 **MAIN QUAD**

But any hope of staying organized died when we stepped outside. We hadn't been able to hear it, but at some point on our way down, an alarm had started going off. It sounded like a wounded animal's cry, and it was coming from the East Quad. "Fuck me," Bepi mumbled. We ran off towards the sound, still huddled tightly together.

 **EAST QUAD**

The light and noise was dazzling at first, but soon I realized what was happening. Flames engulfed the ROTC, blue and white and orange. Barrett stood in the middle of the quad, holding his fists up in the air and yelling at the burning building. An alarm wailed from inside the ROTC as if the building itself was in pain.

We ran over to him (I noticed no dangerous smells except the charcoaly smoke, and I gripped my stun gun tightly). He turned and grinned at us joyfully. "Fucking see it?!" he bellowed. "Ain't it gorgeous?! Ain't it art?!"

"Barrett," I panted, "You have to be careful, okay? Juliet escaped, and..."

"Who fuckin' cares?!" he interrupted. "The bear's dying right now! We're free!"

"But..."

"Wait." Bepi's voice cut me off. "Where's Katy?"

We looked around. The smoke was beginning to billow, but I could still see Lucina, Barrett, Bepi... and that was all. "She was just with us! Where could..."

A sound interrupted me. It was barely perceivable over the fire alarm, but it was horrible and inhuman enough to startle me all the same. It was coming from the tank. It was laughter.

Juliet casually walked out from behind the tank, looking like a ghost in the smoke and firelight. Still shrieking with laughter, she pointed back behind us, at the science building.

I turned just in time to see the body falling down from the roof. It was so light and so small, there wasn't even any sound at all when it hit the pavement.

Ashley Coehlo lay there on her back, staring up at the sky.

Bepi made a strangled, wordless sound. I looked up at the roof, where she had fallen from. There was a figure there, tall and stark and staring down at us. Earl Morale grasped the railing, his mouth hanging open.

Finally, he straightened. "Comrades!" he called, strongly and loudly enough to be heard even over the roar of the fire and the alarm. "You must not let your eyes deceive you! You must trust..." He suddenly turned, looking back behind him. He took a half-step back, as if fearful. "What..."

And then he fucking exploded.

The order it went in was, I saw it, then I heard it, then I understood what I had witnessed. There was the smoke and the flash of fire and light his body suddenly transformed into. Then the pow, the dark, deep, cruel popping noise, so sudden and terrible. And then my mind caught up. He had...

And as pieces started raining down on us, Juliet's shrill laughter continued.


	26. Topics in Cosmology, Part E

_Q: Tell me about your parents, please._  
 _EM: Oho! A pair of fine people, honorable and loyal!_  
 _Q: Hm. What was the most important thing they taught you?_  
 _EM: The importance of being a man! Through them I learned to have pride in steadfastness, sureness, and aggression, but never to have pride in coldness, cruelty, or anger! Many men fall victim to the darkness of being a man; I have seen them many times in my army trailing. But I learned, if dark manhood is a minefield, then valorous manhood is..._  
 _Q: ...a tank?_  
 _EM:_ [laughs wildly] _Correct, my friend! The most important tank of all!_

* * *

 **EAST QUAD**

Everything was chaos and horror and and noise, and I don't know how long it lasted. I felt like I was going completely insane. Up on the roof of the science building, the jagged cloud where Earl had been standing slowly bulged outward. There were little strands leading out from it where... burning pieces... had flown out, leaving trails of smoke behind. And through it all, the alarm blared from the ROTC, and smoke swirled around the quad.

Very suddenly the sound stopped. The alarm cut off, and even though the roaring fire and Juliet's frenzied laughter were still quite loud, the sudden change made me think I was deaf for a second. I slowly felt myself able to think again.

The ROTC was behind me, still burning. The science building was in front of me, the roof blackened. I realized Lucina was hugging my arm, her face on my shoulder, either crying or trying to block out the horrible sights. Barrett looked up at science building roof with what I hope was awe and not sexual arousal, though I wasn't sure. Next to the tank, behind me and to my left, Juliet had fallen over and was rolling on the concrete.

Earl had been standing on the roof of the science building, grabbing the railing, raising a fist, and calling down to us with his usual authoritative confidence. And now... now he was all around me. I looked down at my clothes, at the new splotches. He was _on_ me.

* * *

 ** _FACT 1: EARL'S DEATH_**  
 _Earl was on the roof of the science building and he exploded, right in front of us. Bepi, Lucina, Barrett, and I were in the quad when it happened._

* * *

And Bepi...

Bepi knelt over Ashley's body, a look of grief and disbelief on his face. Leading Lucina along slowly, I walked over to him and put my hand on his shoulder. He didn't move.

* * *

 ** _FACT 2: ASHLEY'S DEATH_**  
 _Just before Earl exploded, Ashley fell off the roof of the science building. It looks like she must have fallen from right where Earl was standing._

* * *

"I really thought she was just immortal," he said. He looked up at me. "Go ask Barrett about the explosion. I'll search her."

I nodded. We went back to Barrett, who still was gaping speechlessly up at the roof. He made a soft squawking noise, then looked over to us with amazement. "Did you see that?" he asked, which was maybe the most ridiculous question I'd ever heard. "He just... boom. I've never seen a person blow up. I've seen buildings blow up with people in them, but never just... a body. Fucking shit."

"Do you know how it happened?" I asked.

He laughed almost distractedly. "No. I wish I did." He pointed up to the dissipating cloud of smoke. "It was powerful, but not big. Lots of heat... a lot of him burned up, probably. But the range of the explosion didn't go too far, so not a lot of damage around him."

I raised an eyebrow. "Could any of your chemicals do that?"

"If I made 'em right. It's perfect for demolition. Whatever it was, it was good shit. ...Surgical." He laughed again. I felt sick.

* * *

 ** _FACT 3: ROOFTOP EXPLOSION_**  
 _According to Barrett, the explosion that killed Earl was destructive, but it didn't have a wide range. He says his explosives could create that kind of result._

* * *

I pointed up to the paths of smoke leading out from the cloud. "Did you notice that there were, like, trails leading out from the explosion? What could those have been?"

"Pieces," he said simply. "Force propels burning pieces out, leaving trails of smoke behind. Hmm." He stood up, tracing the biggest of the trails up and away from the center of the explosion. "But that one's weird, right? Bigger than the others." The trail he meant was more solid and less ephemeral than the others; it stretched out away from the roof of the science building over our heads before getting lost in the smoke from the ROTC fire. "Something blew out, pashow, right over our heads."

I frowned. "What would do that?"

"Not sure." He rubbed his chin, an evil smile on his face. "Something bigger and more solid than a human body, to go that far and so fast and leave that strong a trail. Like, if he had a big piece of metal with him, it might get blown out real far like that."

* * *

 ** _FACT 3: ROOFTOP EXPLOSION (revised)_**  
 _According to Barrett, the explosion that killed Earl was destructive, but it didn't have a wide range. He says his explosives could create that kind of result. There was a big trail of smoke leading away from the explosion; Barrett says that might happen if Earl was carrying something solid with him, like a piece of metal._

* * *

"Saya!" I glanced over to see Bepi there, kneeling over Ashley. He was beckoning us to come over.

Lucina and I walked nearer, Barrett still staring with amazement at the destruction around him. When I got to Bepi, he had his hand pressed against Ashley's hip. "I found something," he said. Frowning, he reached into her pocket and pulled out a piece of notebook paper, folded four times. He stood and unfolded it, considering what was written there.

"What is it?" I asked.

"It's... a letter," he said, crinkling his forehead in puzzlement. "But... like, it doesn't make any sense."

"What does it say?"

"It..." He suddenly whipped his head towards Juliet. "Shut up!"

Juliet instantly fell silent and just lay on the ground for a moment. Then she sat up like the goddamn Undertaker or something, just bending at the waist, and stared at us.

Bepi looked back at the paper, rubbing his temples in confusion. "Okay, it's... 'Dear Romeo, Do you remember the time you saw me and you told me that life is just an echo? I remember. It was snowing, and we lay together on the sofa under our favorite quilt, and we watched Treasure of the Sierra Madre. You finished the bottle of Merlot, and you stood up and stretched and you told me straight out: 'Life is just an echo.' We were alone, but not alone. The future and the past dance a cruel tango, and my hopes will never be free from my cruel memories."

I just looked down at him for a moment. "What?"

"I have no fucking idea."

I squinted in thought. "'Romeo.' Maybe... it has to do with Juliet? Like, someone planted it to frame her?" I frowned. "Also... there's an alumnus named Romeo, right? A playwright?"

Bepi shrugged. "Couldn't tell you."

* * *

 ** _FACT 3: "DEAR ROMEO" LETTER_**  
 _Ashley was carrying a bizarre letter describing a night someone spent with someone else._

* * *

Suddenly, Katy ran through the large archway to the main quad, panting. She appeared to have broken a heel on one of her shoes at some point, so she limped lopsidedly over to the middle of the quad, facing the inferno that was the ROTC. She held a fire extinguisher.

She looked up at the burning building. Then she looked down at the fire extinguisher. The frantic energy in her eyes dimmed, and she sighed. She glanced over at us and laughed with embarrassment... but then she saw Ashley. She dropped the fire extinguisher, bringing her hands to her mouth in horror.

* * *

 ** _FACT 4: KATY'S ACTIONS_**  
 _Katy ran into the main quad to get a fire extinguisher, and at some point on the way she broke a heel. This apparently happened before we saw Ashley fall._

* * *

I touched Lucina on the arm softly. "Could you explain to her what happened?" I asked. "I want to go talk to Juliet." She nodded grimly to me, squeezed my arm one last time, and disengaged herself to walk over to Katy.

Juliet just sat casually as I approached, a slight smirk on her face. I had gotten pretty good at ignoring all her bullshit, though.

"How did you get out?" I asked.

She giggled girlishly. "Someone unlocked the door. I just left."

I narrowed my eyes at her. "Who?"

"I don't have the slightest clue. I didn't see anyone." She slowly pulled herself up to her feet. "I heard something as I was leaving. Some kind of scuffle. But I didn't care enough to investigate."

* * *

 ** _FACT 5: JULIET'S ESCAPE_**  
 _Juliet says someone unlocked the freezer door, allowing her to escape. She claims to not know who did it. On her way out, she heard a scuffle, but she didn't see anyone._

* * *

"What did you do after that?" I asked.

"Sneaked around for a while, and then I came over here," she replied, still eerily calm. "Maybe half an hour ago, I saw Barrett go into the ROTC... and a minute later I saw Ashley come out of the ROTC and go in there." She pointed at the science center.

* * *

 ** _FACT 6: JULIET'S TESTIMONY_**  
 _Juliet says that a half-hour before Earl exploded, she saw Barrett go into the ROTC. Soon after, she saw Ashley leave the ROTC and go into the science building._

* * *

I frowned thoughtfully. "And you just stayed here in the quad the rest of the time?"

"No," she replied, shaking her head. "Ashley looked happy, so I wanted to kill her. I tried to follow her upstairs to the roof. But on the top floor, there was a ladder leaning up to a hatch, and I couldn't open it."

* * *

 ** _FACT 7: TRAPDOOR TO ROOF_**  
 _Juliet says she tried to go to the roof of the science building, but she couldn't open the trapdoor at the top of the ladder._

* * *

"Are you taking a look around now? Juliet asked, daintily clasping her arms behind her back and tilting her head at me cutely. "I'm going to investigate with you."

"No, you're absolutely goddamn not," I said.

"Okay, then! I'll just wander around, doing whatever I want, and you'll just have to not let that distract you from investigating! Your friend Giuseppi looks nice and vulnerable right now."

She turned, and I growled in frustration. "Stop! Gah. Why do you want to come with me?"

"Maybe I'm falling in love with you," she answered, shrugging casually. "Lots of girls experiment in college, right?" At my angry expression, she suddenly went blank, instantly cutting off her coyness. "You're going to solve this case," she said. "I want to help. My life is on the line, too."

I glared at her. "Stay ahead of me where I can see you," I said.

Juliet grinned and I worried she was going to say something awful, but suddenly, with a comical shriek, Monokuma appeared in our midst, raising a fist in the air. "Yeah!" he yelled. "Go bear cubs! Defense! Defense! Defense!"

Then he suddenly froze. He shivered for a moment and then turned to us, clasping his hands behind his back with a gentle and serious expression. "Greetings, investors and donors!" he announced. "My name is Monokuma. That's Japanese for "Monobear!" Or Greek for "One Kuma!"

He seemed to finally notice where he was, and he jumped in surprise. "Holy shit, a dead body!"

We looked around at one another; Lucina's grief and fear appeared to be overtaken by bewilderment as she joined us in gaping.

"I'm fine," Monokuma said. "I know what's going on. I'm... wait." He rubbed his temples as if suffering from a headache. "What?"

"It's a fucking murder," Bepi hissed angrily; he had walked over and seemed quite unamused by whatever was going on. "We have to have a trial, because of your fucking game."

Monokuma nodded slowly. "Killing game. Yes. Okay. I know that one. Yes!" He whirled on us, hands on hips. "Greetings, students! I hate you all, and 1.9999999999999..." He stopped. "Ahem. I hate you all, and two of you are dead! You will have a trial soon to determine the killer of Earl Morale!"

"Hold on, that's not right," Bepi argued. "You said a while ago that if two people die, then only the first murder will count for a trial."

"That's true!" Monokuma agreed. "And according to records and recordings, Ashley Coelho died at 10:08pm. Earl Morale died at 10:17pm. Therefore, you will investigate the murder of Earl Morale!" He paused, rubbing his head with a paw. "Wait. Because 10:12pm comes before 10:17pm, Ashley Coelho died first. And the trial is for whoever died first. So, the trial will be for the killer of Earl Morale!" He paused again. "Wait..."

Barrett suddenly burst into uproarious laughter. "I fucking got you!" he cheered. "Look at you, you're all fucked up! I fucking knew that army building was important."

"That's impossible!" Monokuma argued! "At the very worst, you could only have damaged half of my primary servers and... I mean, you could not have damaged _any_ of my primary servers! I'm fine! F-I-N-N-E fine!"

* * *

 ** _FACT 8: MONOKUMA'S STATE_**  
 _Monokuma is not fine._

* * *

"You seem confused," I observed.

"I am not confused!" Monokuma barked. "You will investigate the murder of Earl Morale! Gaahhhh!" He jumped around in a circle, stomping his little feet. Finally, he just pointed at us. "Screw it, do them both! Just do them both."

"What? But..."

 _"Boogedy boo!" he yelped, and disappeared._

* * *

 ** _FACT 8: MONOKUMA'S STATE (revised)_**  
 _Monokuma is not fine. He insists we have to solve both murders._

* * *

I walked over to Lucina and grabbed her hand with mine, and she hugged herself to my arm. Juliet stood nearby, eyeing Katy, who took a step back from her and glanced over at me. "Saya, I don't think I can do this. I can't deal with her and with bodies and..."

"It's okay," I said as reassuringly as I could. "Go rest. We'll see you in the trial." She hesitated, but after glancing over at Juliet again, she nodded. She ran off back to the main quad.

I noticed Bepi wasn't where he'd been, and I looked around in confusion. He has gone over to Ashley's body and was kneeling over it again. We walked over to him. "Are you all right?"

He ignored my question. "She died almost ten minutes before he did. Which means the fall didn't kill her. She was already dead." He began feeling her head, still tightly covered with her beret. "Hmm." He pulled her beret off and touched her scalp just above her right temple. He raised his fingers to show me: blood.

"She landed on her back," he said. "This wound here is near the front of her head. It had to come from something else."

I pointed down to her chest. "Her jacket is unbuttoned. I don't think I ever saw her do that."

"Me neither," Bepi agreed. "She probably wouldn't open her jacket under normal circumstances."

* * *

 ** _FACT 9: ASHLEY'S BODY_**  
 _Ashley died almost ten minutes before falling off the roof. She had a wound on her temple; she appears to have been hit with a blunt object. Unusually, her business jacket was unbuttoned._

* * *

"How could this happen?" Bepi murmured. "She was so careful. She wouldn't let herself be alone with someone who had a weapon." I remembered her altercation yesterday with Nicole... Ashley did seem to have some sort of sixth sense for danger.

* * *

 ** _FACT 2: ASHLEY'S DEATH (revised)_**  
 _Just before Earl exploded, Ashley fell off the roof of the science building. It looks like she must have fallen from right where Earl was standing. She was killed despite her ability to discern when she was alone with someone else who was armed._

* * *

I looked down at him compassionately. "I need to go investigate the roof. Do you want to stay with her?"

He glanced around the quad; it was almost impossible to even see the far walls. "It's getting really smokey out here. I'm going to stay here another minute then go try to track down everyone who's missing." He held out a small, shiny item. "Take this."

I took it and examined it; it was a small key. "What's this?"

"Ashley had it. It'll probably come in handy."

* * *

 ** _FACT 9: ASHLEY'S BODY_** _ **(revised)**_  
 _Ashley died almost ten minutes before falling off the roof. She had a wound on her temple; she appears to have been hit with a blunt object. Unusually, her business jacket was unbuttoned. She had a small key on her body._

* * *

I nodded. "Wish me luck that Juliet doesn't kill me."

He looked back at me very seriously. "Good luck Juliet doesn't kill you."

 **SCIENCE CENTER: CHEM LAB**

As I expected, Barrett's tableful of chemicals was empty: the white fuel, the black flame retardant, and the three glasses of clear chemicals were all gone. But surprisingly, Jane was still in the chem lab, closing a cabinet over on her side of the room.

"Did someone die?" she asked us.

"Earl and Ashley," I answered. "And we can't find Rodrigo, Nicole, or Rocky."

She thought for a moment and then shrugged. "Shame it's not Barrett. Oh well." She stood up and regarded us haughtily, hand on her chin. "I suppose you want to know my whereabouts tonight?"

"It'd help."

"I don't think it will, actually. I've been here since the early afternoon. I took a look outside when that awful fire alarm started, and I went upstairs to investigate about... five minutes ago when I heard an explosion. I just got back a minute ago."

"Hmm." I glanced at Juliet, then back over to Jane. "What was up there?"

"I don't know." Jane lifted some cleaned vials out of a nearby sink and placed them up on a nearby shelf. "The trapdoor to the roof was blocked."

* * *

 ** _FACT 10. TRAPDOOR TO ROOF (revised)_**  
 _Juliet says she tried to go to the roof of the science building, but she couldn't open the trapdoor at the top of the ladder._ _Jane says she also tried to go to the roof just after Earl's death, and she independently also said she couldn't open the hatch._

* * *

I nodded and indicated the table next to me. "Do you know who took everything that was on this table?"

"Barrett took the white, fire stuff," she replied. "Made a huge goddamn deal about it, too. The rest?" She shrugged. "No clue. I took a fifteen minute lunch, and I think they were gone when I got back, but who knows? I was focused on my own project."

* * *

 ** _FACT 11: CHEM LAB_**  
 _Jane says Barrett took the white substance used as fuel for fires. She also claims the rest of the chemicals were gone when she returned from lunch today._

* * *

"Yeah," I said skeptically. "What is this project of yours, anyway?"

She glared at me. "It was something I finished up today. And you should know what it was." She sighed. "Of course you haven't figured it out. I shouldn't be surprised."

"I know what it was," Juliet said.

"You shut the fuck up." Jane finished restocking all the containers and walked closer to us. "Ugh," she grunted, wrinkling her nose. "You all smell like ashtrays. Is the bear going to clean up before we have to go outside? I don't want to die of smoke inhalation on my way to the trial."

"I don't know," I answered truthfully. "Monokuma is... broken, or something. I think Barrett may actually have damaged him with the fire."

"Broken... or something?" Jane asked, raising an eyebrow. "Eh, whatever, darling. You little Nancy Drews keep on investigating; come get me if I'm needed."

She turned away and began fiddling with some nearby equipment. I don't think she was actually doing anything, but it was clear she was disinviting us from any further conversation. Glancing at my compatriots, I led them away to the staircase.

 **SCIENCE CENTER: STAIRWELL**

As we entered the stairwell, Lucina held up a note, I think this is the only set of stairs. Is that right?

"Yeah," I answered. "Just one way up and down." On the ground floor, the stairs were off the central lobby. "And I think I remember that the doors for the middle floors are all locked." As we passed the door to the second floor, I tested my guess; as I expected the door would not open.

* * *

 ** _FACT 12: LAYOUT OF SCIENCE CENTER_**  
 _There is a single, central staircase in the science center, connecting the lobby on the ground floor with the big computer room on the fifth floor. The doors on all the middle floors are locked._

* * *

Juliet skipped ahead up the stairs, and I started to follow, but Lucina squeezed my hand. I stopped, and she handed me a message: _I know you want to keep an eye on her, but how do we keep her from damaging evidence or murdering us?_

I just shook my head helplessly at Lucina. I leaned in and whispered, "I don't think we can. But I just don't want to be anywhere she can sneak up on us."

"Hey, lovebirds!" Juliet's voice suddenly cut through the quiet from above us. "I think I found a clue!"

We ran up the stairs to the third-floor landing. Juliet knelt in front of the up staircase, examining a black shape in front of her. "It was just lying here," she said. "But you probably shouldn't trust me. I probably put it here."

With an annoyed sigh, I walked up to the thing she was looking at. When I got closer, I saw that it was a black hazmat suit. Next to it, there was a hooded mask of some kind, also black except for the clear goggles, with an odd-looking mechanism right where the mouth would be.

I picked up the mask to examine it more closely. "Do either of you know what this is?"

Lucina put an unsualy tense hand on my shoulder. _It's a respiration hood. Firemen wear them._

I almost asked her how she knew that and then thought better of it. Instead, I focused on the clues. They were the kinds of things I saw hanging up in the store room in the ROTC. "So, if someone wore both of these, they'd be covered head-to-toe." I set the mask down, then glanced at my hand. "Huh, I said. "It's... slimy."

"So is the suit," Juliet said. She stood, wiping her hand on the winter coat she was wearing. "Gross."

* * *

 ** _FACT 13: HAZMAT SUIT AND MASK_**  
 _In the science center stairwell, there was a hazmat suit and breathing mask, which together would cover someone's whole body. Both were slimy when we found them._

* * *

As I paused to consider the possible meaning of this clue, Juliet looked over her shoulder at me. "'I'm bad and awful, but I didn't do it,'" she said.

I looked up at her. "What?"

"You asked me if anything I said at the trial was real. That was. When I told you, 'I'm bad and awful, but I didn't do it.'"

I was very much unwilling to engage in whatever game she wanted to play, so I just scoffed and tried to walk past her up the stairs.

But as I passed, she touched my arm lightly with her fingers and it was as startling as if she'd grabbed it in a firm grip. "You shouldn't be afraid of me," she said. "I might try to mess up evidence, but I'll never do it very well. That'd be basically trying to commit suicide, and I don't think it matters how often I try to do that. The evil in me just won't die."

Her eyes were weirdly hollow as she looked over at Lucina and then back to me. "And I won't try to kill anyone, either. Because you can't imagine the relief I feel here, cut off from the world. I'm finally contained." Her face instantly shifted to a smirk. "Can't say I won't try to torture anyone, though, so watch out for that."

"Ugh." I had put up with this for too long. I pulled Lucina up the stairs with me, leaving Juliet behind. After a few moments, I heard her plodding feet following us.

But as we reached the top floor landing, I stopped short and gave a little shriek. Rodrigo sat there on the steps, his head down in his hands. when he heard me, he jumped to his feet, staring at us in what looked like terror. "F...friends!" he gasped. "The foul beast is behind you!"

Juliet indeed stood behind us, staring blankly at him. I stepped forward. "It's okay! Well... not okay, it's awful. But we're keeping an eye on her while we investigate."

Rodrigo's breath was shallow, but he nodded. "Tis wise."

Juliet raised an eyebrow. "Didn't you hear us talking before?"

"N...no." Rodrigo's expression was like nothing I'd seen on him before. "I apologize for my inattentiveness. I was... distracted by my thoughts and feelings. I have been here for several minutes, attempting to regain my bearing."

I took a step closer to him. I noticed that he looked terrible: he was sweating and panting. He also stood... oddly, his left arm held close to his torso, and he seemed to not want to put weight on his right leg.

* * *

 ** _FACT 11: RODRIGO'S STATE_**  
 _Rodrigo looks upset. He hugged his left arm to his body oddly, and he was standing off-balance._

* * *

"Are you all right?" I asked.

He looked like he tried to relax himself but failed. "I am ashamed to say I'm not. At the sound of an explosion, I came here from the main area to intervene, but... ah, the hatch to the roof was blocked and could not be opened. I then came here, shamefully regretting my helplessness."

* * *

 ** _FACT 12: RODRIGO'S TESTIMONY_**  
 _Rodrigo says he came in from the main quad after the explosion and immediately tried to go to the roof of the science building. After discovering that the hatch was blocked, he came into the stairwell and has been there ever since._

* * *

 ** _FACT 7: TRAPDOOR TO ROOF (revised)_**  
 _Juliet says she tried to go to the roof of the science building, but she couldn't open the trapdoor at the top of the ladder._ _Jane says she also tried to go to the roof just after Earl's death, and she independently also said she couldn't open the hatch._ _Rodrigo also says he was not able to open the trapdoor, and he tried just before we arrived._

* * *

Lucina squeezed my hand. I glanced over to her, and she handed me a note that said, His neck, right under his left ear.

I just regarded her a moment, then smiled innocently at Rodrigo. "Oh, yeah. Lucina says she's upset, too. This is all so horrible." I pointed behind him meekly. "Um, we're going to go up to try to investigate."

"Ah... yes." He nodded. "Please do. Greater minds than mine need to be engaged on this puzzle."

We walked up past him, and I tried to smile reassuringly as I passed. When I did, I took note of his neck: there was a stain there, a blotch of dark schmutz that stood out compared to the rest of his face and neck, which were generally kind of surprisingly clean for how sweaty he was.

* * *

 ** _FACT 11: RODRIGO'S STATE (revised)_**  
 _Rodrigo looks upset. He hugged his left arm to his body oddly, and he was standing off-balance. He had a dark smear of something on his neck._

* * *

As we walked up to the top floor, I felt a weird shiver.

 **SCIENCE CENTER: FIFTH FLOOR**

The big computer room probably took up the entire top floor of the building, and there were big, wall-like computer modules everywhere that reached almost all the way up to the ceiling. It was very ominous to be in mazelike place on such a gruesome night, but luckily I remembered where the ladder was: there was a pretty clear, wide path, and even though dead-end paths branched off, it was pretty hard to get lost in here.

As we walked, Juliet sidled up next to us. "Isn't it odd he just let us all pass?" she asked. "I expected him to insist that I stay behind so he could protect everyone from me. Curious."

It was stupid to treat her as a reasonable person, but I found myself nodding. "Do you think it's possible he really did get from the main quad to the science building without any of us seeing him?"

"Yes," she replied, oddly certain. "There wasn't much smoke at first, but by the time Monokuma showed up, it was getting pretty bad. And with us distracted by the deaths, it's not implausible someone could have run past us without anyone noticing, by that point."

* * *

 ** _FACT 13: SMOKE IN THE QUAD_**  
 _The ROTC's fire spewed a lot of smoke into the quad. At first it wasn't too bad, but by a few minutes after Earl's death, there was a lot of it._

* * *

"But one thing about the timing is curious," she continued. "If they're telling the truth, he managed to just miss Jane. She was coming back the other way just a couple of minutes ago."

I started to say something, but we rounded the corner that led to the ladder and I stopped. There was a wide, clear puddle around the base of the ladder, with shards of broken glass scattered all through it.

Juliet sniffed the air and frowned. "Does anyone else smell chocolate?"

As we walked closer to the ladder, I smelled it too. The puddle was emitting an obvious chocolate smell.

* * *

 ** _FACT 14: PUDDLE AT THE LADDER_**  
 _A clear puddle of liquid was at the base of the ladder leading up to the science center's roof. Shards of glass were scattered through the puddle. The liquid smelled like chocolate._

* * *

Juliet grinned thoughtfully. "Very interesting. If I even need to say it: no, this was not here when I attempted to go to the roof earlier."

I leaned over the puddle, looking closer. The ladder appeared to be mostly untouched by the liquid, but unfortunately, the puddle itself was too wide to get to the ladder without stepping through it. I hesitated, but luckily Juliet just walked right through the puddle, crunching through glass with her elegant flats, and climbed up the ladder herself. When she reached the top, she pushed up on the trapdoor... and it opened. With a shrug, she headed on up.

I looked at Lucina seriously. "You know the other two smells, right?" She nodded. "I don't think Juliet does, though."

Lucina wrote out a response, _Me neither, but Ashley knew._

"What?! How did she find out?!"

 _Jane told that whole "group." I heard Ashley talking about it yesterday._

I sighed. "Okay, that might change a lot. Thanks for telling me."

* * *

 ** _FACT 15: BARRETT'S CHEMICALS_**  
 _Jane told Ashley, Earl, Katy, and Rocky about Barrett's three chemicals and what they smelled like._

* * *

I started to go up the ladder, but she held my arm. I looked up at her quizzically, and she handed me a note: _I have very good hearing. When we were in the stairwell, I'm pretty sure I heard a door open and close from above us._

She kept my gaze and handed me a second note: _Twice_.

I tried to wrap my mind around this. "When?"

 _Once not long after we went in. Then again right at the end of talking to Juliet._

I squeezed her arm gratefully. "You may save us again," I said. She blushed.

* * *

 ** _FACT 16: SOUNDS IN STAIRWELL_**  
 _Lucina says she heard a door open and close twice while we were in the stairwell._

* * *

Unable to put it off any longer, I stepped through the puddle, trying to avoid as much broken glass as possible, and headed on up the ladder. Lucina followed behind me.

 **SCIENCE CENTER: ROOF**

The first thing I noticed when I got to the roof was the destruction: there was a giant, black scar where Earl had been, the hand rail next to it bent and broken. Most of the telescopes had been knocked over. It looked like someone had blown up here, which made me feel stupid for expecting anything different.

The next thing I noticed was a computer terminal, about the side of a suitcase, lying on its side next to the trapdoor. Juliet examined it thoughtfully. "Do you know where this came from?" she asked.

I looked closer, then nodded. "There's computers in those little rooms," I said, pointing at the clear-glass structures that were surprisingly thick enough to withstand the explosion. "It looks like someone got one of those."

Juliet hesitantly kicked it with her foot. It didn't budge from where it lay. "Very interesting," she said, probably with deliberately annoying mysteriousness. "It's... very heavy. I don't think I'd be able to move it by myself."

I tried giving it a little shove myself; she was right. "Who'd be able to move it? Rodrigo and Earl, for sure. Maybe Barrett?"

Lucina held out a message, _Probably not Rocky. He's pretty small. I think Katy's the strongest of the girls._

* * *

 ** _FACT 17: COMPUTER TERMINAL_**  
 _There was a heavy computer terminal lying next to the trapdoor on the roof. It looks like it was taken from one of the nearby small rooms. It was heavy enough that not all of the students would be able to move it by themselves._

* * *

We walked over to the explosion site, but frankly there weren't a lot of clues there. But I did remember Earl turning around right before he died, and I turned myself to mimic his motion. I realized he must have been looking right at the telescope dome, where we'd gathered to have Emily's little funeral. There were black spatters from the explosion all over the side I was facing. There was an open shutter near the top of the dome, about ten feet up... presumably this is what the telescope was meant to be pointed through, when it was used.

* * *

 ** _FACT 1: EARL'S DEATH_**  
 _Earl was on the roof of the science building and he exploded, right in front of us. Bepi, Lucina, Barrett, and I were in the quad when it happened. Just before he blew up, he looked back at the telescope dome._

* * *

I walked over to the door leading in to the dome, but when I got there, I was surprised to find a chain and padlock wrapped around the handle, rendering the door completely impossible to open. I glanced over to Juliet, who almost certainly could tell this was very similar to the set-up that had left her trapped in a freezer the past few days.

Glancing at the padlock, I took out the key Bepi had found on Ashley's body. It fit perfectly. I opened up the locks, removed the chains, and opened the door.

* * *

 ** _FACT 18: DOOR TO TELESCOPE DOME_**  
 _The door to the telescope dome was sealed from the outside with a chain and padlock. The key found on Ashley opened the padlock._

* * *

 **SCIENCE CENTER: OBSERVATORY DOME**

As before, I was momentarily distracted by the size and complexity of the telescope in the middle of the dome. But I quickly noticed something else: a tall ladder leaned up against the wall leading up to the open shutter.

* * *

 ** _FACT 19: LADDER_**  
 _A ladder was set up inside the observatory dome, leading to the open shutter._

* * *

With an admonishment from Lucina to be careful, I climbed up the ladder. When I reached the open shutter, I had an excellent vantage point of the spot where Earl had been killed. The shutter itself was pretty big; I could lean my whole torso out with plenty of room to spare, and I examined the side of the dome, trying to ignore that the stains there were the remains of a human being. On impulse, I also examined the top of the ladder, sticking up over the rim of the open shutter. It, too, had Earl spatters on it.

* * *

 ** _FACT 19: LADDER (revised)_**  
 _A ladder was set up inside the observatory dome, leading to the open shutter. The top of the latter, which stuck up over the rim of the open shutter, was marked with dark stains._

* * *

"Found something!" Juliet's voice announced from below. "It's gross!"

'One second!" I called back, not even responding to her weirdness anymore. I gave one more look over the roof... and I'm glad I did, because I noticed something shiny off to the side that I hadn't seen before. I resolved to investigate later and descended the ladder, thanking Lucina for holding it steady for me.

I walked over to Juliet, who was examining what looked like trash near the door of the room. As I got closer, I realized it was two piles of wadded, white gauze.

"It's my brand," she said. She held up the bandages proudly. "Recognize these?"

It took me a moment, but I did. It was the same kind of bandages that I'd found in JP's dresser: the ones Juliet had used when torturing Emily.

"These have been used," Juliet observed. She pointed to one of the piles and I saw that yes, a circular stain of blood had soaked through the gauze in several places. "Hmm," she muttered, "circular blood stains. Only a clean puncture wound would cause those."

"What about those?" I asked, pointing to the other pile and trying to not acknowledge I was just fully treating her like an ally now.

She turned them over and showed they were smudged with a dark stain. "It looks like someone used it as a rag," she said. "Like they wiped something off with it." That was a bit of an odd observation, but I couldn't disagree.

* * *

 ** _FACT 20: BANDAGES_**  
 _There were two wadded piles of bandages in the telescope dome. One looked to have been used on a wound and had circular stains of blood. The other was dirty, as if it had been used to wipe something off._

* * *

Judging by the way Lucina was gripping my arm, though, she was less unaffected by Juliet's presence and behavior. I gave her a solid nod. "Okay, let's keep investigating. I want to check a couple more places before we run out of time."

 **SCIENCE CENTER: ROOF**

After leaving the dome, I immediately went to find the shiny object I'd noticed before. I assumed it wasn't a clue, just an unimportant piece of shrapnel. I was not correct about that.

Lucina showed me her reaction, _That's a gun._

It was indeed. It was a rather large handgun, covered in sooty remains but its steel-silver color coming through.

"That's a gun!" Juliet observed from behind me. She sounded way too happy about it.

I picked up the gun; it was surprisingly heavy. I poked at it a little bit, but didn't get very far.

"Uh, what are you trying to do?" Juliet asked.

"I'm trying to see if it's loaded."

"Oh. Hold that tab on the side there, and then pull that piece there." She grinned. "See, aren't you glad you brought me along?"

I followed her instructions and tried to ignore the rest of her. I successfully opened up the handgun and saw it was empty: no bullets.

"It also hasn't been fired recently... if at all," Juliet remarked.

* * *

 ** _FACT 21: HANDGUN_**  
 _There was a handgun on the roof, covered with remains from the explosion. There were no bullets in it, and Juliet said it's probably never been used._

* * *

I looked around. "Monokuma?" I called. "Hey! Monokuma!"

"Aaaghghg!" Monokuma suddenly appeared, panting. "What?! What?! I'm busy!"

I held out the gun. "You said you'd show us footage of anyone who took a weapon out of the arsenal."

"Oh right!" He seemed relieved. "That's easy. That's a whole different system." He pressed his paws against his head like a phony psychic and mumbled something. "All right, done!" My tablet buzzed and he started to run off.

"Hold on!" I called. He grudgingly stopped. "Was only one weapon removed from the arsenal? This is the only footage we need?"

"That's all, and it clearly shows the person's face!" he said. "Stop bothering me!" He disappeared.

I started to reach in to my pocket, but I noticed Lucina give a tiny, silent cough. "Let's go inside to watch this," I said. "The smoke's getting worse." Lucina smiled gratefully and Juliet did not react at all.

 **SCIENCE CENTER: FIFTH FLOOR**

Unfortunately, we had to walk back through the puddle and broken glass to get away from the ladder: it was too far to jump clear. "Okay, actually, first thing?" I said. "I think we all have to sacrifice our shoes. I don't think it's safe walking around with that stuff on our feet."

I worried Juliet would protest, but she didn't seem too bothered. We all slipped off our shoes. Satisfied we weren't a third of the way toward exploding, I took out my tablet. The three of us gathered around it and I turned it on.

I played the black-and-white video Monokuma had sent me. It was short and silent, almost like a gif, but he'd been correct: it did clearly show me the identity of the person who walked into the arsenal, took the handgun I'd found, and then left. It was the very last person I had been expecting.

Lucina held up a note, Ashley?!

It was indeed Ashley Coelho who took the gun. She wasn't even trying to be sneaky about it; just in and out, totally casual.

* * *

 ** _FACT 20: HANDGUN (revised)_**  
 _There was a handgun on the roof, covered with remains from the explosion. There were no bullets in it. Ashley is the one who took it from the arsenal._

* * *

Lucina scribbled out a message, trying not to let Juliet see it: _Why would she get a gun with no bullets, and how did it end up on the roof, nowhere near her body?_

"Good questions," I said.

 **SCIENCE CENTER: LOCKER ROOM**

There were two more places I wanted to search, so we headed down to the locker room where Earl had kept his spare equipment and clothes. But as we stepped inside, Juliet stopped us. "Hey," she said, looking around surreptitiously, "I remembered another clue."

We both glared at her with intense skepticism. "You just remembered a clue," I said.

"Yes. I can tell you or not; it's up to you if you want to believe me."

I glanced at Lucina who clearly was not a fan of the idea, but I just sighed. "Fine."

Juliet placed a hand on her sternum. "Oh, I'm so touched by your trust, Saya, thank you. I was thinking about that chocolate smell you were so concerned about, and I realized: when I was by the tank tonight, right when the fire started... I smelled the same thing."

"You smelled it outside, by the tank?" I asked.

She nodded. "I'm certain."

* * *

 ** _FACT 22: SMELL NEAR TANK_**  
 _Juliet claims that she smelled chocolate near Earl's tank, just before the murders._

* * *

Trying not to either disregard or believe her too quickly, I decided to focus on searching. I went to the locker where I'd seen Earl's stuff, and I took a look through it.

There was one uniform hanging up in the locker; it looked perfectly pressed and clean. A shined pair of boots sat at the bottom of the locker, a pristine pair of black socks next to them. I rustled through the pockets of the uniform and found nothing. I was just about to give up, when I decided, on impulse, to take a closer look at the boots.

They were totally normal-seeming, but when I picked them up, I noticed something very apparent. The soles of the shoes were clearly emitting a sickly-sweet vanilla odor.

* * *

 ** _FACT 23: EARL'S EXTRA BOOTS_**  
 _The boots in Earl's locker had a sweet, vanilla-smelling substance on the soles._

* * *

"Your girlfriend likes to smell shoes," I heard Juliet remark behind me. Lucina audibly scrawled something and violently tore out a piece of paper, and I figured whatever response she gave Juliet was appropriate.

I looked around for any more potential information. I noticed a decorated pair of goggles on the wall that I assumed were Nicole's, but I didn't notice any clues with them. Then, I saw a trench coat hanging up on a hook near the door. "It must be Jane's," I mused aloud. "She wears a trench coat when she isn't wearing a lab coat, right?"

Lucina nodded, and she walked over to the coat, patting it softly... then she froze. She reached into a large pocket of the coat and pulled out a clear bottle with a transparent liquid inside. She opened the cap and sniffed, then she pulled her face away in distaste.

She held out the bottle to me, and I took a sniff myself. Pickled ginger.

* * *

 ** _FACT 24: BOTTLE IN JANE'S COAT_**  
 _Jane's trench coat had a bottle of spicy-smelling liquid in the pocket._

* * *

I heard the door open, and I turned to see Nicole walk in. She froze in fear when she saw Juliet, but of course, despite the chaos of the night, she still looked amazing: hair and clothes just perfectly in place. "What the fuck is going on?" she asked, not coming any closer.

"Earl and Ashley are dead," Juliet answered. "And I escaped. Gonna kill everybody."

Nicole looked to me and Lucina for help. I just raised my hands in the air helplessly. "She's actually been more annoying than anything else."

After a moment, Nicole appeared to accept what I said, and she walked closer. "Earl and Ashley?" she asked. "What happened? Was it the fire?"

"No. There was an explosion and... something else we're trying to figure out."

"Huh. Crazy shit." She smirked. "Makes sense they'd go up together, though." She noticed the bottle in Lucina's hand. "Oh fuck, is that..." She ran over, grabbed the bottle, and smelled it. "Spice. Where'd you find that?"

Lucina pointed at Jane's coat. Nicole rubbed the back of her head thoughtfully. "Well, damn it. If someone's been playing with those chemicals, no wonder there was an explosion." She glanced around at the three of us. "You all know what to smell for, so keep alert. It'd be real easy to set a trap with those."

"Yeah, it would," I said, nodding. "Hey, what've you been doing tonight? We're trying to build a timeline on things."

"Oh, just in my room." She showed off a lacy, light scarf around her neck. "I made this. It's my murderscarf now, I guess. Hot." She grinned, then tapped her chin thoughtfully. "I came over from the main quad, I dunno, a couple of minutes ago, but shit was all crazy outside, so once I saw the tank was still there, I came in here." She shrugged. "I was hoping to run into Earl and Ashley, actually. Not my night, I guess."

* * *

 ** _FACT 25: NICOLE'S TESTIMONY_**  
 _Nicole says she was in her room all night, and she came over to the east quad not long before meeting us in the science center locker room._

* * *

I tilted my head in confusion. "Why were you hoping to run into Earl and Ashley?"

She smirked sneakily and leaned in closer to me. "Because I overheard they were going to have a secret rendezvous tonight, just before Earl did his tank thing."

I blinked uncomfortably. She was very close; I could smell that beautiful, flowery scent she'd been wearing, and her perfect hair and make-up seemed to mockingly fill my whole vision. "When did you overhear that?"

"Today, with Barrett. They were talking outside, and we heard them make the plans. They were going to meet up at 10:00 somewhere in this building, and then Earl was going to go start the tank." She sighed. "Earl spooked me with his whole 'rule through fear' bullshit, but y'know, I don't think he had killer in him. He was a hypocrite and an idiot, but... I dunno, I wanted to try to get through to him at least once before he drove off and got exploded by Monokuma's defenses." She shuddered. "Ashley was fuckin' dangerous though, so I probably woulda chickened out anyway."

* * *

 ** _FACT 26: MEETING BETWEEN EARL AND ASHLEY_**  
 _Nicole says she and Barrett overheard that Ashley and Earl planned a meeting in the science center at 10:00._

* * *

Suddenly, a deep shirring noise started; it seemed to be coming from outside, on the quad.

"There!" Monokuma's voice blared from hidden speakers. "The situation has been contained. Now that that's done with, all students must gather in the usual place for the class trial! Be there or die and go to hell!"

His voice sputtered out. Juliet giggled. I don't even want to imagine why.

 **EAST QUAD**

When I got outside, I saw that some sort of huge air-purifier-like machine was set up. It was obnoxiously loud, but it was thankfully already clearing the smoke. Meanwhile, some sort of automated hose on a crane was spraying water impotently into the still-flaming ROTC.

Bepi was standing near the door, waiting for us. I pointed to the equipment that was newly set up in the quad. "How did this get here?"

"I don't know. I went to the main quad and searched around with Katy and Rocky for a little bit, and when I came out, this was all here." He looked away. "Monokuma had something to do with it, but I don't know what he did. He's still all fucked up, but..." He paused for a moment. "Hmm, actually, let me try something." He took his shoe off and then hurled it at the fence at the edge of the quad. A scary-looking machine-gun popped out in response, then receded. "Shit. Yeah, I guess all the machines around here still work. Ashley's body was gone, too. Didn't see what happened to it."

I put my hand on his; I was keeping the horror and chaos of the night at bay pretty well, but Bepi's grief was hard to look directly at. "I'm sorry. I know she was your friend."

He closed his eye for a moment and then just sighed. "Found something. I want to show you before the trial." He indicated Juliet with a tilt of his head. "Without your sidekicks."

But Juliet didn't seem to care; she just started wandering off toward the main quad. I smiled to Lucina, who nodded, and I followed Bepi across the quad.

He led me over to a spot a few feet from the tank and pointed at something on the ground. "There was all sorts of debris," he said, "but this stood out. Take a look."

I did. Squatting down and poking at the debris, I realized it was a curved piece of metal about the size of my hand, twisted and burned but not hot to the touch. Although it was very distorted, looking closer I could see it was white and black on one side, aluminum-colored on the other side.

* * *

 ** _FACT 24: PIECE OF METAL_**  
 _There was a curved piece of metal in the east quad. It was damaged, but I could tell one side was painted white and black, and the other side was plain metal._

* * *

"Think it's important?" he asked.

"Not sure yet," I answered truthfully. I pointed back over my shoulder to the main quad. "Let's hurry, there's one more thing I want to check out before we go to the trial."

 **MAIN QUAD**

All the survivors were gathered around the monolith when Bepi and I arrived, even Rocky, the one I hadn't seen yet. He was standing there sullenly, next to Katy, who waved and caught my attention when she saw me.

"Saya," she greeted as I neared. "Did you solve the crime? I ran into Rocky right after I came back, and we searched all around here, but we didn't find anything. Right, Rocky?" She glanced back.

Rocky nodded and mumbled, "Yeah."

Katy looked back at me, er grin very odd and manic. "Hey, could I ask you something real quick? It's about the thing we talked about before... the private thing."

I raised an eyebrow, but allowed her to lead me a few feet away. She looked haggard but generally fine. Her clothes and hair smelled like charcoal, even though she'd only spent a couple of minutes in the east quad when the smoke wasn't even too bad yet, but her eyes were bright and focused.

"I did find a clue," she whispered to me, handing over a small piece of white paper. Then she laughed loudly. "Oh, lesbian humor!" she barked unconvincingly and walked back to the group, trying to stay as far from Juliet was possible.

I half-heartedly faked a laugh and looked at the paper she'd given me. It was a receipt from the student stores, showing that earlier today an icepick had been bought by the Ultimate House Music Producer.

* * *

 ** _FACT 25: RECEIPT_**  
 _According to the receipt Katy gave me, Rocky bought an icepick from the student stores earlier today._

* * *

I slipped the receipt in my pocket and jogged back over to the group; Monokuma hadn't shown up yet, but I was probably working with borrowed time. "I have one more thing I want to check," I said. "But... it's kind of weird." Everyone looked at me expectantly. "Uh. Rodrigo, I need to look at your feet."

Rodrigo blanched. Nicole put her hands on her hips and raised an eyebrow. "You say shit like that, but then you think you're not The Peculiar Princess?"

"I swear it's not a weird sex thing," I said. "It's just... for clues."

Rodrigo hung his head. "If it is to aid in the pursuit of justice, I will do it," he said. He very gingerly settled down to a prone position on the ground, again, I noticed, favoring his left arm and right leg. I knelt down and picked up his right foot, subtly pushing up so his ankle would bend. Nothing happened, so I lifted his leg up slightly, and he winced. Aha: the hip.

* * *

 ** _FACT 11: RODRIGO'S STATE (revised)_**  
 _Rodrigo looks upset. He hugged his left arm to his body oddly, and he was standing off-balance. He had a dark smear of something on his neck. His leg is hurt on the hip._

* * *

Satisfied, I finally began legitimately inspecting his foot. It was dirty, like expected from someone who went around barefoot all the time. I looked closely at the sole and saw nothing but grime.

"Uh," I said. "I need..." I coughed awkwardly. "I need to smell it."

"Jesus christ, Saya," Nicole said.

But Rodrigo just said, "If it must be done, it must be done."

I gave his foot a quick whiff. It smelled like a dirty foot: nothing else.

* * *

 ** _FACT 26: RODRIGO'S FEET_**  
 _Rodrigo's feet were dirty, but otherwise there was nothing unusual I could discern on them._

* * *

"Thanks," I muttered, and I set his foot down. He nodded haltingly and sat up; I couldn't tell if he was phased by the weirdness of my request or if he was still oddly discombobulated.

Thankfully, a sproing sounded and Monokuma appeared. "We are... close enough to ready!" he announced.

"I got you, and you know it," Barrett sneered. "I'm gonna get you worse next time, just wait."

"Students will refrain from promising to 'get' the school mascot!" Monokuma shouted. The door in the monolith opened, revealing the familiar, awful elevator. "Get on! Go! Go!"

 **TRIAL ELEVATOR**

We all stood there in silence as we descended. It was weird, Ashley took up so little physical space, but she left as big a hole as tall, strapping Earl. They were both gone; it was just... unbelievable.

I felt Lucina holding my hand tightly, and I was suddenly immensely relieved for all she'd done for me. I had some sort of weird emotions thing, but she FELT, and she still went around with me all night, helping me investigate all these horrible things. My hand felt like the only part of me that was warm.

The elevator began slowing to a stop. Very suddenly, from the corner, the silence was broken by Juliet's voice.

"Her parents wanted her to be seen and not heard," she said. "So they lied to her, and they told her every sound she made caused others pain." The elevator ground to a halt, and she cast an evil grin around the room. "They taught her that lesson many different ways, but the most effective one was with fire."

It was so abrupt and unexpected, I didn't even realize who she was talking about at first. In fact, the way I found out was from the way Lucina began squeezing my hand so hard, it hurt.

The elevator doors opened. "Trial time!" Juliet sang. As she skipped out of the elevator, she glanced back at the rest of us, who were unable to do little more than gape. "Time for Saya to solve the case!"

My whole body felt like ice.

* * *

 _Q: Tell me about your parents please._  
 _AC: I don't find that question remotely fucking amusing._

* * *

 **Once again, I put in effort to make the mystery solvable at this point.**

 **If you want to try solving it, head here to make a guess and to give any feedback on the story you want: ht(tps): slash slash forms . gle / 3E5CcrTtztFevzyK9 (remove parentheses and spaces and write actual slashes. The url's also on my profile.)**


	27. Topics in Cosmology: Part F

In the aftermath of Juliet's revelation, we all just stood in silence for a moment. Jane moved first; she casually shrugged, as if to say, "Yeah, fire would be a pretty effective way of teaching something," and headed off to the trial.

I tried to catch Lucina's gaze, but she just stared straight ahead. Katy touched her shoulder, and even Rocky, who had been glowing and muttering to himself just a second before, regarded her with forlorn helplessness. But ignoring us all, Lucina just let go of my hand and walked stiffly out of the elevator.

 **TRIAL ROOM**

The trial room did not appear to have a new theme; instead, it looked like a cheap hotel convention room (admittedly, much larger than most), with blank off-white walls and dirty-looking carpets. Likewise, our circle of podiums just had two blank spaces. JP's slot continued the ghoulish pattern of featuring a black-and-white photo of his face (there were three Xs slapped on the picture) but Earl and Ashley's spots were just empty.

Monokuma waddled out onto his big central stage, a machine gun slung over his shoulder. He quivered a bit oddly. "All right, you lazy idiots!" he snapped as we found our spaces in the circle. "You know the rules!"

"Do you?" Bepi called back.

"I know rule number one, which is I get to shoot smartasses!" the bear snapped. "But don't worry, the execution or executions we'll be having later won't just come from the barrel of a gun! They're horrible and ironic, just like always! You'll..."

I tried to ignore his mind games and instead looked around the circle at my classmates. Lucina gripped her lectern tightly, staring down at the floor; Katy, one spot away from her, absent-mindedly grasped the locket around her neck. Rocky rubbed his hand against his head, seeming shell-shocked. Bepi just started ahead grimly; Barrett caught his gaze and gave him a grin. Nicole tapped a pencil against her chin and jotted something down in her sketchbook.

Juliet reached over to Rodrigo, in the space next to her, and held out a piece of paper. Rodrigo blinked cluelessly at her, and she pointed to the side of her neck. "Wipe yourself off, you got a little..."

Horrified, Rodrigo, grabbed the paper and furiously rubbed it against the dark smudge on his neck, then he tossed the stained paper to the floor as if it was poisonous.

"...and imbibed by the spirit of chaos!" Monokuma finished. "So, you'd better solve both these murders, or it's the guillotine for you!"

"Barrett did it!" Nicole yelled, pointing at him.

Barrett gaped at her in confusion. "What? No I didn't!"

"Dude, Earl exploded! You explode things! Done!"

"Hold on," Bepi interrupted. "Let's take ten big steps back before we start throwing accusations around, okay?"

"Okay, but Barrett fuckin' did it..." Nicole mumbled. Barrett just grunted and threw a two-finger salute in her direction.

"We'll see," Bepi said. "But for now, we've got some mixed messages on the timeline of things. Can we just get you to establish once and for all when each of them died?"

"Well, that's easy!" Monokuma bellowed. "They died at exactly the same moment! That's why you're investigating both murders!"

We all shared a look around the circle. "Hold on," I said. "That's impossible."

* * *

 ** _FACT 2: ASHLEY'S DEATH_**  
 _Just before Earl exploded, Ashley fell off the roof of the science building. It looks like she must have fallen from right where Earl was standing._

* * *

"Ashley clearly must have died first, because we saw her fall off the building before we saw Earl explode."

"Oh god, you saw him explode?" Katy gurgled, looking sick.

"Boom," Barrett replied. Katy put a hand over her mouth.

Monokuma nodded. "Yes, just like I said! Earl Morale died before Ashley Coelho!"

"Ugh." Jane rolled her eyes. "The bear is going to be no help, obviously. So can we just assume that the little one died when she fell off the roof, and then a few moments later, the big one died when he exploded?"

"No," Bepi answered. "The bear told us earlier that Ashley died before she fell off the roof, but even without that, there's evidence she was at least attacked first."

* * *

 ** _FACT 9: ASHLEY'S BODY_**  
 _Ashley died almost ten minutes before falling off the roof. She had a wound on her temple; she appears to have been hit with a blunt object. Unusually, her business jacket was unbuttoned._

* * *

Nicole frowned. "She was hit on the head? From the front? How'd someone do that? She could tell I had a knife, and I wasn't even coming at her."

"That's a very good question," I said. "But before we work on the how, let's just lay out what we know of the when. This was a pretty eventful night." I paused and sighed. "But... we have to be careful. Because at least two people with useful information are motivated to lie."

"The killers?" Katy asked.

"If it's two different killers, then we have THREE people motivated to lie," I said. "Because... I was also counting Juliet, and I don't think she did it this time."

Juliet nodded sagely. "I do lie a lot. It's best to just ignore everything I say."

I shook my head. "No, we shouldn't do that either. If she says something that's confirmed by someone else, we should consider it."

"This is confusing," Rocky muttered.

"Oh, you think play-doh is confusing," Jane growled.

"Well... there were two big things that were gonna happen tonight, right?" Katy said, thankfully not adding to the tension. "Barrett was going to try to burn down the ROTC, and Earl was going to try to start his tank and drive it off through the fence."

"The traitor!" Monokuma yelped, appalled. "There's no way he could get through my defenses anyway, but he wasn't supposed to use that tank to escape. He was supposed to use that tank to kill someone!"

"Barrett did burn down the ROTC," Nicole said.

"Yeah, thought someone was gonna be stupid and try to stop me, but they didn't," Barrett confirmed. "Went off smooth as fuckin' cream."

"I know Earl was worried someone would try to stop him," Nicole pointed out. "He was creepy as shit about it, too."

* * *

 _She pointed at Ashley, looking more irritated by this point than anything else. "Her stupid boyfriend spooked the shit out of me. Like an hour ago he went and found me and like..." She shuddered. "He was like, 'A poor leader rules through fear, so please forgive me if tomorrow night I have to be a poor leader.'"_

 _I felt myself tensing involuntarily. "That is... really ominous."_

 _"I know, right?!" Nicole threw her arms up in frustration. "What the fuck does it even mean?!"_

 _"It means he's going to get us all out of here," Ashley replied pedantically. "He's almost done with his tank, and he doesn't want you or Bomberman to fuck it up."_

* * *

Juliet tilted her head at Nicole. "Well, he was right, wasn't he? You did try to stop him. Don't you remember what you told us in the locker room?"

Nicole stared in confusion for a moment, then held up a finger. "Oh! Right."

* * *

 _"Earl spooked me with his whole 'rule through fear' bullshit, but y'know, I don't think he had killer in him. He was a hypocrite and an idiot, but... I dunno, I wanted to try to get through to him at least once before he drove off and got exploded by Monokuma's defenses."_

* * *

"But I wasn't gonna attack him or anything, I just didn't want the fool to get himself killed."

"Let's not get sidetracked from the time line," Jane interrupted, annoyed. "The important thing is, by this morning, pretty much everyone knew Earl and Barrett planned their little events for tonight. Even I knew, and I give less than a shit about any of this."

"There's nothing subtle about what I do," Barrett said. "I got my fire fuel from the chem lab this morning, I set it all out in the army building, and I lit it."

"When was that?" I asked.

He shrugged. "Dunno... went in a little before 10:00 maybe? Lit it ten or fifteen minutes later."

I nodded. "OK, that does line up with some Juliet testimony."

* * *

 ** _FACT 6: JULIET'S TESTIMONY_**  
 _Juliet says that a half-hour before Earl exploded, she saw Barrett go into the ROTC. Soon after, she saw Ashley leave the ROTC and go into the science building._

* * *

Katy squinted in confusion. "What was Ashley doing in the ROTC?"

"I think I know," I replied. "But... it's kind of unexpected."

* * *

 ** _FACT 20: HANDGUN (revised)_**  
 _There was a handgun on the roof, covered with remains from the explosion. There were no bullets in it. Ashley is the one who took it from the arsenal._

* * *

"Ashley?!" Barrett shouted, looking absolutely perplexed. "Holy shit, I didn't think she had it in her."

"But no one was shot, right?" Bepi asked.

"There weren't even any bullets," Juliet replied. "And the gun hasn't ever even been fired."

Bepi glanced at me. I nodded.

"Why the hell would Ashley get a gun without any bullets?" Nicole wondered. "She was nuts, but I never thought she was dumb."

Katy held up a finger. "Where did you find that gun? On the roof?"

I raised an eyebrow at her. "Yeah."

"Was there anything else up there? Like... objects?"

"Um. Out in the open? No... just the computer terminal."

She just said "hm" and nodded. I wasn't sure why, but I found it very distracting.

"Let's keep focusing on the timeline, so we can be sure of things," Bepi said. "Ashley got a gun from the armory, then went into the science center because she arranged a meeting with Earl. They were going to meet before Earl tried using his tank."

* * *

 ** _FACT 26: MEETING BETWEEN EARL AND ASHLEY_**  
 _Nicole says she and Barrett overheard that Ashley and Earl planned a meeting in the science center at 10:00._

* * *

I nodded. "All right. So, it's 10:00. Barrett is in the ROTC. Ashley and Earl are on the roof of the science building. Juliet was in the east quad."

"I was in the chemistry lab," Jane volunteered.

"Lucina and I were in the dorm," Katy piped up. "Bepi came in around then. We tried to knock on people's doors, but Saya was the only one who answered."

"I was in my dorm room," Rocky muttered. "Wearing headphones."

"So was I!" Nicole said. "But I was in total scarf-mode, so I'm not surprised I didn't hear you."

Rodrigo cringed slightly. "I was in the cafeteria."

I narrowed my eyes slightly in thought. That was... a lot of lies just now.

"After Earl and Ashley began their meeting, the roof of the science building was inaccessible," Juliet said. "I attempted to follow Ashley, but I was unable to open the trapdoor at the top of the ladder on the fifth floor."

Barrett snorted. "Oh, helpful girl. Why should we believe this shit?"

"We shouldn't, necessarily," I said. "But Juliet's not the only one who said this same thing."

* * *

 ** _FACT 7: TRAPDOOR TO ROOF (revised)_**  
 _Juliet says she tried to go to the roof of the science building, but she couldn't open the trapdoor at the top of the ladder. Jane says she also tried to go to the roof just after Earl's death, and she independently also said she couldn't open the hatch. Rodrigo also says he was not able to open the trapdoor, and he tried just before we arrived._

* * *

"Jane tried to go up right after she heard Earl explode, and Rodrigo tried just after her."

"And we tried just after Rodrigo," Juliet added.

"So no one could get to the roof?" Nicole asked. "Shit, how're we gonna solve this if no one could even get to the crime scene?"

"No, we could get to the roof," I said. "The trapdoor opened fine for us."

Bepi glared down at his lectern in thought. "So... After Ashley goes up, Juliet, Jane, and Rodrigo all independently said they couldn't go up to the roof. But then Saya says she and Lucina were able to get up there."

"Why couldn't anyone get up there in the first place?" Katy asked. "I don't think it ever had a lock on it that I could see."

"It was blocked," Juliet said casually.

* * *

 ** _FACT 17: COMPUTER TERMINAL_**  
 _There was a heavy computer terminal lying next to the trapdoor on the roof. It looks like it was taken from one of the nearby small rooms. It was heavy enough that not all of the students would be able to move it by themselves._

* * *

I nodded. "Yeah, that's what I think, too."

"So... our victims go to the roof," Jane said. "The door to the roof is blocked by the computer terminal. Both of the victims die. And then somehow after that, the computer terminal is moved away?" She raised an eyebrow. "Well, this can only mean one thing, can't it?"

"They weren't alone up there." Katy was pale. "Unless both Rodrigo and Jane are lying, someone had to move the terminal away after Earl died."

"Who was it?" Nicole asked, glancing around thoughtfully.

"Couldn't have been me!" Barrett bellowed. "I was settin' shit on fire and watching it burn!"

"And Bepi, Saya, and Lucina are out," Katy said. "I guess Juliet, too. We were all in the same place down in the quad when everything was happening."

I nodded. "And you can clear one more person, too, right?" I asked. "After you went to the main quad."

* * *

 _"Saya," she greeted as I neared. "Did you solve the crime? I ran into Rocky right after I came back, and we searched all around here, but we didn't find anything. Right, Rocky?" She glanced back._

 _Rocky nodded and mumbled, "Yeah."_

* * *

"Oh yeah," Katy said. "I guess that's true. Rocky was just in the quad, and there wasn't time for him to get downstairs and over there." Rocky, for his part, just shrugged. "So... who's left? Who could have been there?"

From the way people were looking, I wouldn't even have to play any games to lead at least one or two people to the correct answer. But I wanted to set the context first, or we were in danger of going down a dangerous, wrong path.

"Hold on," I said. "I'm still confused about the timeline. Because there's something else that happened earlier tonight, and I still don't understand how it fits in."

"Oh?" Juliet asked, cocking an interested eyebrow. "What's that?"

"Well... you." I pointed at her. "Someone released Juliet from the freezer earlier this evening."

* * *

 ** _FACT 5: JULIET'S ESCAPE_**  
 _Juliet says someone unlocked the freezer door, allowing her to escape. She claims to not know who did it. On her way out, she heard a scuffle, but she didn't see anyone._

* * *

"She is devilishly clever," Rodrigo said. "Perhaps she devised a way to escape on her own."

"I don't think so," Bepi said. "It's hard to have a secret door to a freezer; the cold air escapes. And the lock was just open, the key sticking right out of it. Someone had to deliberately let her out."

"That is a stupid, stupid thing to do," Juliet said, and she actually seemed legitimately angry about it. "I was safe in there. I'm not..." She took a deep breath. "Goddamn it, why would someone do this?!"

Bepi frowned in thought. "I don't know, but maybe that weird letter has something to do with it. It didn't make any sense, but it references 'Romeo,' so maybe it was trying to connect Juliet with the murders?"

* * *

 ** _FACT 3: "DEAR ROMEO" LETTER_**  
 _Ashley was carrying a bizarre letter describing a night someone spent with someone else._

* * *

Nicole did a double-take at him. "Wait... Romeo?" She shared a glance with Barrett. "One of the alums of this program is named 'Romeo.' A real bigshot. Why would Ashley have something like that?"

"You're all so stupid," Juliet mumbled. "I'm supposed to be contained. It's not worth it to set me free just to frame me, or whatever you were going to do. You just..." she trailed off. "Unless..." she suddenly looked around at Bepi, oddly hopeful. "Was there any other evidence you found by the freezer?"

He regarded her suspiciously but said, "Yeah. Something pretty blatant."

* * *

 _He held up a silver object. I gasped when I realized what it was: a long, sharp icepick. And on the end, a dark stain that was clearly..._

* * *

Juliet put a hand on her chest and exhaled slowly. "Oh. Okay. Thank god."

Rocky raised an eyebrow at her. "What do you mean, 'thank god?'"

"Well, there's only a handful of reasons someone might have let me out," she explained, smiling brightly. "They could want to frame me for a murder. They could just want chaos. Misplaced sympathy, christ forbid. But, that icepick points to another possibility: they didn't actually want to let me out."

I felt a hitching in my chest: I'm not sure if it was feigned or not. "They wanted to kill you."

"Wait, wait." Nicole said, putting a hand on her face. "We had two murders tonight... AND someone planned a THIRD?"

"There was a lot of tension building up," Katy said hesitantly. "I think those fairy tales Monokuma gave us made people think about stuff they didn't want to think about."

"But why didn't they go through with it?" Bepi asked. "And whose blood was that on the icepick?"

"Someone stopped 'em, obviously," Jane said. "That was the commotion Juliet heard. They got stabbed in the process."

"Juliet's a fuckin' liar," Barrett sneered. "Why should we trust she heard anything?"

"She is a liar," Bepi pointed out. "But that blood came from someone. Unless she..."

A loud zipping sound cut him off. Juliet undid her wool parka and tossed it away, then kicked off her ski pants. She stood there, naked as the day she was born. "Take a look," she said, stepping out from behind her lectern, . "No injury. Nothing."

I tried hard not to look directly at her, knowing it would serve as an unneeded distraction. I failed... but my reaction surprised me. Her body was astoundingly attractive to the point of being surrealist, but in my current mindset, it was just the shape of someone dangerous, someone probably too smart for me to fool. I idly wondered if this reaction should worry me.

I was one of the few who didn't seem absolutely stunned (Rodrigo and Katy, in particular, both looked like they were about to keel over and die) so I said out loud, "She's right. She doesn't have any wounds." She smirked at me and my face heated; I let my clinical mindset slip for a moment. "Please put your clothes back on." Thankfully, she complied, but she left the parka halfway unzipped. I figured that was the best we were going to get.

"F...friends," Rodrigo said, still looking pretty shell-shocked, "Does this aspect of the evening even matter? I too wish to know all whose hearts are dark enough to want to kill, but we must focus on Friend Earl and Friend Ashley, yes?"

"I think what happened in the frat house is connected to the murders," I said. "And honestly, I'm not very interested in the person who intended to use the icepick. I'm..."

"No," Katy said, softly but firmly. "No... I don't know what you're doing, Saya, but I don't think it's okay to just move past someone trying to commit murder." She looked around at everyone. "I know who was planning to kill Juliet."

* * *

 ** _FACT 25: RECEIPT_**  
 _According to the receipt Katy gave me, Rocky bought an icepick from the student stores earlier today._

* * *

Everyone looked at Rocky, who gripped his lectern tightly and stared down at the floor. He made no attempt to defend himself.

"The receipt is iffy, remember?" Nicole said. "Someone could have stolen his tablet, or..."

"It was just Juliet," Rocky said.

There was a silence.

"She fucked everything up for everyone," he continued. "No one shoulda minded."

"Uh... I'm not sure we would have had a very difficult time cracking that case," Jane pointed out. "You're not exactly Professor Moriarty."

"Fine!" Rocky shouted. "So you woulda caught me! Do I look like I care? Everyone just... look, I'm dumb, but I'm smart enough to know people gotta die to open up the campus. So let's get it over with! Just let me be an idiot and get myself killed! Who gives a shit?" He sighed grumblingly. "Luce, don't look at me like that."

Lucina was indeed giving him a very forlorn look. I found myself wishing we had Earl or Ashley there to chide Rocky, because no one presently in the room seemed to have the heart. Jane looked disgusted with him, but that was the closest we came.

"Okay, whatever, but someone obviously didn't agree with you," Nicole said. "And... got stabbed in the process, hm?"

Rocky just stared downward. "I'm not saying anything. They were stupid for stopping me, but Saya thinks they were involved in the murders, and I don't snitch on people who try to help me. Even if they shouldn't have."

"Are you kidding me?!" Nicole yelped. "It ain't like the cops are cruising the neighborhood, here, this is some fucked-up murder game!"

But Rocky just glowered at the floor. "Nuh-uh. I always fuck everything up by losing my shit. The only reason it's not worse is because people step in. I'm not screwing someone over who does that. Not even if everyone gets killed from it."

"Well, then, does our little hero want to speak up?" Jane asked, peering around the room. No one moved. "Curious." She glanced over at me. "Well, please continue, then, darling. Explain why you care about this whole thing."

I nodded. "Well, it's something we found on the roof of the science center. Evidence that makes me suspect the person who tried to stop Rocky was up there at some point tonight."

* * *

 ** _FACT 20: BANDAGES_**  
 _There were two wadded piles of bandages in the telescope dome. One looked to have been used on a wound and had circular stains of blood. The other was dirty, as if it had been used to wipe something off._

* * *

"Circular stains?" Bepi said. "Hm. A puncture wound... like an icepick would make."

"And these particular bandages aren't new," I added.

* * *

 _It was the same kind of bandages that I'd found in JP's dresser: the ones Juliet had used when torturing Emily._

* * *

"It's exactly the same bandages that were in the frat house. They were right there, where the fight happened."

"Uh... okay, let me see if I got this," Nicole said. "Someone is at the frat house when Rocky opened up the freezer, stopped him from killing Juliet, and got stabbed in the process? Then they took the bandages from the last murder and... went to the roof of the science building?"

Katy looked forlornly at Rocky. "Even if you don't want to say who it is, could you say what happened? At least the stuff you did? That's not snitching on them, right?" She clutched her chest pleadingly. "You don't want anyone to die, right? I can tell that, at least."

Rocky looked solidly at her (keeping his eyes from traveling anywhere else in the circle, probably for fear he'd give something away). "Fine," he said. "I opened up the freezer and hid in the secret passage. Juliet came out, and I was about to run out and stab her, but... someone... grabbed my arm from behind."

He looked down at his hand with something close to contempt. "I just flailed out, you know? Just stupid and unthinking like always. But they held my arms until I calmed down, even with the blood all over." He clenched his fist and sighed. "They made me promise I wouldn't try to hurt anyone again, even Juliet. I got the bandages for 'em, and then... I dunno, they just let me go."

What a saint," Nicole said sarcastically. "Y'know, they didn't do it out of the kindness of their heart. They planned to kill Earlshly, and they had to stop you because if you killed Juliet, their murder wouldn't count for the game."

Barrett chortled. "Bet you feel stupid now, whoever you are. Didn't think I'd fuck up the bear like I did!"

Monokuma, for his part, just tilted his head in confusion. "'Earlshley?'"

"It saves time!" Nicole defended.

"Hold on... let's not jump to conclusions," Bepi said. "It seems strange to plan this big, sneaky murder... but leave the bandages just lying around to be found. And how did they know what Rocky planned? There's something confusing about all this."

Jane rolled her eyes. "Why don't we just ask? The individual in question is standing right here in this room, and surely no one is slow enough to not yet have figured out their identity." She glanced around with a knowing look, then frowned in dismay. "God, really? It isn't obvious?" She pointed an accusing finger... right at Rodrigo. "It's obviously man-meat here."

Rodrigo made a choking sound that sounded like it was trying to be a denial. He brought a hand up to his face and finally stammered some words, "Nay! It's not true!"

"It's uncouth to lie, dear," Jane said with severe condescension. "You were seen near the roof..."

* * *

 ** _FACT 12: RODRIGO'S TESTIMONY_**  
 _Rodrigo says he came in from the main quad after the explosion and immediately tried to go to the roof of the science building. After discovering that the hatch was blocked, he came into the stairwell and has been there ever since._

* * *

"...and your story about that doesn't make sense. There wasn't time to for you to get up the stairs and back down without running into me."

* * *

 ** _FACT 7: TRAPDOOR TO ROOF (revised)_**  
 _Juliet says she tried to go to the roof of the science building, but she couldn't open the trapdoor at the top of the ladder. Jane says she also tried to go to the roof just after Earl's death, and she independently also said she couldn't open the hatch. Rodrigo also says he was not able to open the trapdoor, and he tried just before we arrived._

* * *

 _I've been here since the early afternoon. I took a look outside when that awful fire alarm started, and I went upstairs to investigate about... five minutes ago when I heard an explosion. I just got back a minute ago."_

* * *

Juliet cocked her head and looked at him like a cat. "You're also one of the few students capable of moving the computer terminal off the trapdoor by yourself."

* * *

 ** _FACT 17: COMPUTER TERMINAL_**  
 _There was a heavy computer terminal lying next to the trapdoor on the roof. It looks like it was taken from one of the nearby small rooms. It was heavy enough that not all of the students would be able to move it by themselves._

* * *

"Oh yeah," Jane added, rolling her eyes again. You're also _obviously fucking injured._ "

* * *

 ** _FACT 11: RODRIGO'S STATE_**  
 _Rodrigo looks upset. He hugged his left arm to his body oddly, and he was standing off-balance._

* * *

Rodrigo stood as stiffly and straightly as he could, staring off at nothing. "I refuse to speak on this matter," he said.

Jane regarded him coolly, hand on her chin. "Show us your left arm, Rodrigo."

He didn't look like he even heard her. He just stood tall.

"Christ, what is this?" Nicole snapped. "Mr. Honorboy snaps? What the fuck is going on?"

Barrett grinned. "Well, that's it then, eh? Fucker might as well be confessing."

Jane nodded. "After the kaboom, he just oh-so-casually moves the terminal and comes down. On his way, he runs into the Three Investigators and tells them he very recently came to the building. Devious."

"Wait," I said. "We have to be really sure of our timeline, here. Jane, you said it was impossible for Rodrigo to have gone up to the roof without running into you. But that's not true."

"Ugh, what the hell are you saying now, Saya?" Jane asked contemptuously. "We both know there's only one way up and down."

* * *

 ** _FACT 12: LAYOUT OF SCIENCE CENTER_**  
 _There is a single, central staircase in the science center, connecting the lobby on the ground floor with the big computer room on the fifth floor. The doors on all the middle floors are locked._

* * *

"Yeah, but there is one place you can be missed. The fifth floor."

* * *

 _The big computer room probably took up the entire top floor of the building, and there were big, wall-like computer modules everywhere that reached almost all the way up to the ceiling. It was very ominous to be in mazelike place on such a gruesome night, but luckily I remembered where the ladder was: there was a pretty clear, wide path, and even though dead-end paths branched off, it was pretty hard to get lost in here._

* * *

Bepi frowned in thought. "Huh. Yeah, someone could hide up there, but you'd pretty much have to do it on purpose, wouldn't you?"

"I just said it was possible," I replied, feeling defensive. "I never said it wasn't sketchy."

Lucina waved her hands to get everyone's attention. She held up a note written in large letters so we could all read it: _I don't agree with the theory about Rodrigo's motivation._

She scribbled (she had gotten a large, black magic marker at some point) and held up a new message, _He had a different reason to be following Rocky. It wasn't because he planned a murder later._

* * *

 _Lucina stepped forward, holding up a card._ Help Rocky.

 _Rodrigo tilted his head. "Friend Rocky deserves protection, but no more than others."_

 _She looked hesitant; I tried to give her an encouraging smile. I don't know how well it worked, but either way, she quickly scrawled out,_ He's at the end of his rope, and I don't know what to do. The rest of us can take care of ourselves, but Rocky's not able to be careful.

 _Rodrigo considered this in silence for a moment. "Very well," he said. "If he is vulnerable, I am bound to give him extra protection. Friend Lucina, I swear to you that I will keep him from harm!" He placed a fist over his chest and marched off._

* * *

Rocky groaned slightly and squeezed the bridge of his nose. "Luce..."

Katy nodded. "It probably counts as protection to keep someone from doing something they'd get executed for."

"Unless he's Machiavelli himself, I don't think Rodrigo could have tricked Lucina into doing that," I said. "So, there's no way he stopped Rocky because he planned a murder and wanted it to count for the game."

"So what?" Jane said dismissively. "So the fucker was lucky. He was planning a murder and just happened to be in position to stop another murder. People are morally complicated, blah blah blah."

"This is crazy," Katy said. "We have two options. His bandages show up on the roof where the murders happened, but he wasn't planning to kill anyone. Or, he was planning a murder, but by chance he happened to stop an unrelated murder that would have wrecked his plans. ...They both sound pretty unlikely to me."

"Uh, don't be stupid," Nicole snapped. "This is Churchy Monkington we're talking about. If he was innocent, he'd be telling us all about it." She glanced at him sideways. "But he's not. He's just all clammed up."

"She's right," Bepi said. "You gotta know it's not looking good for you, Rodrigo. I don't want to believe you could do this, but unless you give us something to work with..."

"Goddamn it!" Barrett suddenly shouted. "Talk, you fucker!"

Rodrigo didn't move a muscle.

I sighed. "He's not going to help." I tried one more time myself, with just an imploring look. He was entirely stoic.

I sighed. "Let's focus back on the timeline, okay? Ashley gets the gun and goes up to the roof, and Earl blocks the trapdoor. Rodrigo is up on the roof with them at this point. A few minutes later, Ashley is killed. A few minutes after that, she falls off the roof, and Earl is killed. Then Rodrigo moved the computer terminal out of the way and went down the ladder."

* * *

 ** _FACT 2: ASHLEY'S DEATH (revised)_**  
 _Just before Earl exploded, Ashley fell off the roof of the science building. It looks like she must have fallen from right where Earl was standing. She was killed despite her ability to discern when she was alone with someone else who was armed._

* * *

"Hold on," Jane said. "How do you know Earl blocked the trapdoor? Maybe it was Rodrigo."

"I don't think so," I said. "The terminal was in place not long after Ashley went up. He'd have to do it right in front of them."

"Maybe they knew they were meeting Rodrigo," Bepi suggested.

"No, that doesn't make sense," Katy replied. "He was on the 'other team,' remember?"

"Oh right," Nicole mused. "Wait but... but this makes even less sense. They have a private meeting with him right there?"

"They didn't," I said. "Because we found the bandages inside the telescope dome where we had Emily's memorial. And there was something else about that place..."

* * *

 ** _FACT 18: DOOR TO TELESCOPE DOME_**  
 _The door to the telescope dome was sealed from the outside with a chain and padlock. The key found on Ashley opened the padlock._

* * *

"Hmm," Bepi said. Locked with a padlock... the same way Juliet was locked in the freezer."

"Earl and Ashley are the ones who devised that little plan."

"And the key was on Ashley's body." Bepi frowned. "So... so they locked him in, didn't they?"

I nodded. "That's what makes sense to me. Either he was already in there, or they made him go in. And then they blocked the door from the outside. They really wanted privacy." I risked a glance over to Rodrigo. He wasn't moving or reacting at all.

Barrett chuckled darkly. "Stupid fucks. So they lock him in, and he just tricks 'em for the key and lets himself out."

"Wait, that can't be true," I said. The door was locked from the outside, remember? And we know he left the roof after Ashley was thrown off the roof, and Ashley had the key."

Jane hmphed thoughtfully. "So how did he get out?"

"We found that, too," Juliet replied.

* * *

 ** _FACT 19: LADDER_**  
 _A ladder was set up inside the observatory dome, leading to the open shutter._

* * *

I nodded. "He climbed up to the open shutter and then just dropped down." I tilted my head slightly as I regarded him. "It's not short drop. Is that how you hurt your hip?"

* * *

 ** _FACT 11: RODRIGO'S STATE (revised)_**  
 _Rodrigo looks upset. He hugged his left arm to his body oddly, and he was standing off-balance. He had a dark smear of something on his neck. His leg is hurt on the hip._

* * *

He just looked back at me, stoic.

"Jesus Christ," Nicole muttered. "All of a sudden everyone's some kind of mafioso?" She sneered at Rodrigo and Rocky. "If you didn't do this shit, then who the fuck are you protecting? None of us are family. You know that, right?" She shook her head in pure contempt. "No. Rodrigo did it. He had to. I refuse to believe two fucking people in here dumb enough to go this far for some fucking stranger."

"...We're not exactly strangers to each other," Katy said hesitantly.

"Uh, yeah. We are." Nicole gaze was almost never hard and undistracted, but it was right now. "You don't know me. I don't know you. The end."

"I don't think..."

"God, I knew you were naive, but this is fucking crazy."

"It's like she doesn't remember what happened to Emily," Juliet remarked. Katy inhaled to speak, but looked to think better of it. She just clenched her fists and glared down at her lectern.

"Can we get back on it?" Bepi asked, looking pretty annoyed by the sidetracking. "Because unless Rodrigo is going to tell us what happened, there's something I need to understand before we do any voting at all. How could someone have surprised Ashley?" He pressed his hand against his stomach as if anxious and angry at the same time. "You guys don't know how careful she was. She never let herself be in direct danger. So for her to be killed by being hit with something... and especially from the front! I don't get it."

"Rodrigo can be pretty charming when he wants to be," Jane said. "...In a naive, boyish way, of course."

Katy looked up, blinking in surprise. "Wait, Rodrigo?"

"Does it even fucking matter?" Barrett tossed his hands up casually. "He was up there and she died! That's enough for me. Burn the monk!"

Katy waved her hands around. "Hold on. Rodrigo..."

"Unless he wants to speak up for himself," Bepi said, raising an eyebrow.

"Fuck 'im," Nicole sneered. "He..."

A sudden bang cut her off. I whipped my head over to see Katy, holding the shoe that still had the stiletto heel on it in her hand. She'd whacked it against her lectern, and she looked very surprised at her own behavior. "Uh, sorry," she said. "I didn't think that'd be that loud. Um... but wait, everyone, I thought we'd be talking about Earl. Why would you be talking about Rodrigo with _Ashley's_ death?"

I crinkled my brow at her. "Why wouldn't we be?"

She blinked, completely bewildered. "Uh, because he couldn't have killed Ashley. I thought we all knew that."

No one said anything; we all just stared at her.

"Only one person could possibly have killed Ashley," Katy clarified.

Jane just snorted. No one else said anything.

Katy took a hesitant half-step back. "Oh... I guess I'm wrong. I thought we all were on the same page, but I must just be making stuff up."

"No," I said, as kindly as I could. "We're listening." Jane practically audibly rolled her eyes, but I ignored her. "What do you mean? Explain it to us."

"Uh." She looked very uncomfortable at everyone's looks, but she made quick eye contact with me and with Lucina and then she nodded. "Okay. It's not, like, detective work or anything. I'm not good with logic stuff, but I do know people."

She took an anxious breath. "So... so there's only one thing that could have been the murder weapon, right? She was hit with something on the roof, so there's only one thing the killer could have used."

* * *

 ** _FACT 20: HANDGUN (revised)_**  
 _There was a handgun on the roof, covered with remains from the explosion. There were no bullets in it. Ashley is the one who took it from the arsenal._

* * *

Bepi grimaced. "You think she went and got the very gun that was later used to kill her?" He crossed his arms in thought. "Maybe. But maybe there was another weapon that got blown away in the explosion."

"Yeah, but... the gun makes sense for another reason. Because you keep saying how weird it is that she'd be in a position to be attacked with a weapon. So it had to be something that actually was dangerous, but she didn't think it was."

Bepi's mouth hung open. "It wasn't loaded."

Katy nodded. "And she knew it wasn't. So she just filed it away in her head as harmless. She didn't think that someone might use it just as a club."

Bepi pushed two fingers against his temple, sighing. "Yeah," he said. "Yeah, it works. Ashley was smart and prepared, but she was never very creative, was she?"

"Okay," I said. "So, she was killed with the gun. But Katy, why do you think Rodrigo couldn't have done it?"

"Because her coat was unbuttoned," she answered, as if that explained everything in the world.

But Bepi held up a hand. "Wait," he said. "You couldn't possibly be suggesting..." He trailed off. "God. It couldn't be, could it?"

"What?" Barrett asked, annoyed he was out of the loop.

"Ashley's business coat was never unbuttoned," Katy explained. "I can't think of any reason the killer would open it, so she must have. And... like... I know I'm the romance writer, but I can't be the only person who can imagine why she'd be opening up her clothes on the roof tonight?" She looked around meaningfully. "In the meeting she made sure was very private? With..."

"With Earl," Bepi finished.

"Hold up," Nicole said. "Earl was a motherfucker, but would he really..."

"Because think about the gun," Katy said. "Why would Ashley get a gun without any bullets in it? What use would she think an empty gun has?"

I gasped. "Intimidation." I pointed over to Nicole. "And you know as well as anyone who was planning to intimidate people tonight."

* * *

 _She pointed at Ashley, looking more irritated by this point than anything else. "Her stupid boyfriend spooked the shit out of me. Like an hour ago he went and found me and like..." She shuddered. "He was like, 'A poor leader rules through fear, so please forgive me if tomorrow night I have to be a poor leader.'"_

 _I felt myself tensing involuntarily. "That is... really ominous."_

 _"I know, right?!" Nicole threw her arms up in frustration. "What the fuck does it even mean?!"_

 _"It means he's going to get us all out of here," Ashley replied pedantically. "He's almost done with his tank, and he doesn't want you or Bomberman to fuck it up."_

* * *

"He told her the gun was for scaring everyone away," Katy explained. "Who else would she give it to? He's the only one who'd want it, and he's also the only one she'd trust."

I found my mouth hanging open a bit as I listened to her. I reminded myself again, because the lesson obviously hadn't gotten through: Katy can surprise you.

"He manipulated her into meeting in secret, isolating herself off from any means of escape, and giving him the very weapon used to kill her." Juliet smirked. "And right in the middle of making out, he..."

"Hold on," Rocky interrupted, his confusion apparently overriding his promise to stay quiet. "I never really got Earl, I admit that. But this doesn't make sense. He wasn't that kind of dude. He was always all about honor and shit."

Katy nodded sadly. "I know. I think he was actually a good person. But... lots of good people have tragic romances."

"That's true," Juliet agreed.

"It was the fucking tank, wasn't it?" Barrett sneered. "It always boiled down to the tank for him."

Nicole tapped her pencil against her chin thoughtfully. "Maybe Ashley changed her mind and thought it was too dangerous for him to try to drive through the defenses. All of a sudden, she was in the way of his big plan." She shook her head suddenly, as if trying to fling something off it. "Wait, no. Because Rodrigo was there, right? We know he was there. Why did he go there? And why won't he tell us if he ain't guilty?"

"There's still one murder to account for," Bepi pointed out darkly.

"Could he even have killed Earl?" I asked. "Rodrigo isn't exactly... up to date with modern technology. How would he blow someone up?"

"I am fucking appalled and offended," Barrett growled. "I go out of my way to make it as easy as possible, and you just forget?"

* * *

 ** _FACT 3: ROOFTOP EXPLOSION_**  
 _According to Barrett, the explosion that killed Earl was destructive, but it didn't have a wide range. He says his explosives could create that kind of result._

* * *

"And all his chemicals were missing today," Jane said.

* * *

 ** _FACT 11: CHEM LAB_**  
 _Jane says Barrett took the white substance used as fuel for fires. She also claims the rest of the chemicals were gone when she returned from lunch today._

* * *

"Oh my god," Nicole murmured. "I fuckin' get it. Rodrigo planted all three chemicals in different places, didn't he?" She looked over at me. "Yo, did you chicks find any of them planted where Earl woulda been stepping?"

I nodded grimly.

* * *

 ** _FACT 14: PUDDLE AT THE LADDER_**  
 _A clear puddle of liquid was at the base of the ladder leading up to the science center's roof. Shards of glass were scattered through the puddle. The liquid smelled like chocolate._

* * *

"Something Nice was on the fifth floor, around the ladder. You had to step through it to get up there."

* * *

 ** _FACT 23: EARL'S EXTRA BOOTS_**  
 _The boots in Earl's locker had a sweet, vanilla-smelling substance on the soles._

* * *

"And Earl's boots had Sugar on them."

"Wait," Bepi said. "The ones he wasn't wearing?"

"Yeah, but he had a couple of different pairs in there. If the killer didn't know which pair he'd put on, they'd have to coat all of them with the chemical if they wanted to be sure."

Barrett grinned. "An' someone just planted Spice right there where he was stepping. Kaboom."

"No," Katy said, "that doesn't make sense. How would they know he'd step right there? If they just dropped it all around randomly, then it's weird he'd step in it right then but not earlier."

"Ashley," Bepi said grimly. He fixed Rodrigo with a cold glare. "The paladin picks up Ashley's body and goes to the edge of the roof... right where he's planted the Spice. He taunts Earl with her body, and throws her over the side. Earl runs to that spot, looks over the edge, and... that's it."

"That's it," Barrett agreed, a downright vile expression on his face.

"So... that's it?" Monokuma ventured. "It's time to... do the thing we do in trials, which I totally know what it is so no one tell me?"

"I still don't like it," Katy said.

"Yo, me neither!" Rocky snapped. "Earl and Roddy? The two guys we can actually fucking trust? I can't believe it."

"Christ," Nicole snapped. "Maybe you all should just die here. Listen to me: you can't trust anyone who ain't family."

"It starts with a 'v,' right?" Monokuma said. "It's time to violin? It's time to velociraptor?"

"Oh shit, I hope it's time to velociraptor!" Nicole said, suddenly hopeful and childlike.

Another sudden bang startled everyone. Juliet stood behind her lectern, somehow holding Katy's high-heeled shoe. Katy herself looked just as baffled as everyone else about how she'd gotten it.

Juliet cleared her throat, relishing everyone's attention. "I have two problems with the idea that Rodrigo killed Earl," she announced. "It's fucking stupid, and fucking stupid people came up with it."

"Oi, fuck you," Barrett shouted. "No one wants to hear from you."

"I bet no one does," Juliet concurred, fixing another doll-like gaze upon him. "But is it riskier to listen to me, or is it riskier to ignore me? Maybe I have information you need. Or maybe I'm lying." She smirked. "Tough one, huh? You'll die if you make the wrong choice."

Everyone was indeed starting to look a little nervous. "Uh... christ, what do we do?" Rocky asked.

Bepi snorted at her. "And why would you speak up with your great insight now?"

Juliet just shrugged. "Maybe I just can't accept that the two manliest people locked in here would both turn out to be cowards. Or maybe I'm furious at them for sneaking around like a woman. Like I do."

Glancing around the circle, I saw a lot of confused, conflicted faces... but there was one exception. Lucina.

Her message had more big writing in black magic marker: _There aren't any lies she could tell us that Saya couldn't pick apart._

I felt a little frozen then, unfamiliar emotion swirling into my chest. She... believed in me.

I knew she was trying to help, but... I couldn't take this feeling. I needed to be cold during a trial, but Lucina's supportive smile was draining that out of me. Lucina trusted me so implicitly? And she was so fucking beautiful, and I think I'm like super-gay, and Ashley and Earl were _dead_ and _I_ could have died, and _Lucina_ could have died, and...

"Saya," Juliet grunted. I didn't reply, so she said again, "Saya!"

I looked over at her, feeling my heart pounding in my chest, face turning pale.

Juliet smiled an evil smile. "Oh yes, Saya the great detective. Tell me something, Miss Princess, how is the king of your kingdom doing these days? Did he ever recover from that... accident of his?"

It was like she punched me in the chest. No... it was like she slammed an ice pack into my chest.

Her grotesque expression filled my entire vision, and like a paper towel soaking up water, the emotionlessness just oozed down into my entire body. No more warmth, no more feeling. Just awareness.

I nodded at Juliet. "You know what? Lucina's right. Juliet should say what she has to say. If she's lying, I'll know."

Juliet's smile got strange for a second, and then she glanced around. Seeing no argument, she began to speak.


	28. Topics in Cosmology: Part G

Juliet looked absolutely delighted with herself as she explained. "Rodrigo could not have lured Earl to the spot on the roof where he blew up. Because Rodrigo was still trapped in the telescope dome."

Bepi glanced at me, then back at her. "Okay. And you know this because..."

"Because Earl is an influence that will stay with us for as long as we live," Juliet replied. "But... he stayed with our friend Rodrigo in a much more literal way, didn't he?" At our blank looks, she nodded her head down to the paper she'd earlier handed Rodrigo. "That's the remains of our departed leader, you cur. You just toss it away onto the floor?"

Katy jumped back, horrified. "That's... Earl goo?" She blinked. "Ugh, I can't believe I just said 'Earl goo.'"

"Maybe it's not," Bepi pointed out. "Yes, the explosion produced burnt, dark-colored material, but we don't know that's what Rodrigo had on him."

"That would be even worse for the theory," Juliet said. "Because there's no way he could lure Earl over there and not end up with any splatters on him."

"Wait no, that isn't true," I said.

* * *

 ** _FACT 13: HAZMAT SUIT AND MASK_**  
 _In the science center stairwell, there was a hazmat suit and breathing mask, which together would cover someone's whole body. Both were slimy when we found them._

* * *

"He could've been wearing that suit in the stairway. That would keep him from getting messy from the explosion."

"Weak," Juliet snorted, rolling her eyes. "What Saya's trying to lead us all to is that the suit, which has to be connected to the case, wasn't used to protect Rodrigo from the explosion. Because it was _slimy_ , not caked with meat-ash. And because if he was wearing it, how'd he get anything on his neck?" She smirked at him, then at me, then as Earl's blank spot for some reason. "No, he was exposed to the explosion."

"Uh, hold on," Rocky said, pinching the bridge of his nose in concentration. "Your big great evidence is that Roddy had explosion-goop on him, but... if he was out there on the roof without any protection, he'd be singed or something, right?"

"Nope. There was one place on the roof where he could have avoided that. Inside the telescope dome."

"Ugh, you keep contradicting yourself!" Jane grumbled. "If he was in the dome when Earl exploded, then he'd be protected from any splatter."

"Oh god stop saying 'splatter,'" Katy grumbled.

I nodded sharply, deciding it was time to step in. "That's mostly true, Jane, but not completely. It is possible to be in the dome and still get some debris on you. You just have to be in one particular spot."

* * *

 _With an admonishment from Lucina to be careful, I climbed up the ladder. When I reached the open shutter, I had an excellent vantage point of the spot where Earl had been killed. The shutter itself was pretty big; I could lean my whole torso out with plenty of room to spare, and I examined the side of the dome, trying to ignore that the stains there were the remains of a human being. On impulse, I also examined the top of the ladder, sticking up over the rim of the open shutter. It, too, had Earl spatters on it._

* * *

"The ladder was set up at the shutter when Earl exploded... we know that because it had debris on it." I nodded over to Rodrigo. "If he was standing at the top of the ladder when it happened, looking out the shutter..." I trailed off, then raised my eyebrow at him. "That's what Earl saw, isn't it? He saw Rodrigo standing there, watching him."

* * *

 _I looked up at the roof, where she had fallen from. There was a figure there, tall and stark and staring down at us. Earl Morale grasped the railing, his mouth hanging open._

 _Finally, he straightened. "Comrades!" he called, strongly and loudly enough to be heard even over the roar of the fire and the alarm. "You must not let your eyes deceive you! You must trust..." He suddenly turned, looking back behind him. He took a half-step back, as if fearful. "What..."_

* * *

Nicole waved her hands in denial. "No no no," she scoffed. "This is ridiculous. You can tell a nice story about how this happened, but I don't buy it, not without proof. Where's the proof?"

"The proof's on his face," Juliet replied casually. "I notice where people are dirty and gross, but that means I also notice where they're not."

* * *

 _We walked up past him, and I tried to smile reassuringly as I passed. When I did, I took note of his neck: there was a stain there, a blotch of dark schmutz that stood out compared to the rest of his face and neck, which were generally kind of surprisingly clean for how sweaty he was._

* * *

Barrett threw his hands up in frustration. "Are you just saying random shit to bug us now? What does the rest of his face being clean have to do with anything?!"

"It means he cleaned it," Jane answered coolly. "If he was exposed to the splatter but was mostly clean, then he must have cleaned himself off. But he missed a spot."

"Everyone misses that one spot on their necks," Nicole mused.

"Quite," Jane said, failing to appear unannoyed about being interrupted. "But the question remains: How is this evidence he was inside the dome when Earl exploded?"

"Because we found what he used to clean himself off," I answered. "It was inside, next to the telescope."

* * *

 ** _FACT 20: BANDAGES_**  
 _There were two wadded piles of bandages in the telescope dome. One looked to have been used on a wound and had circular stains of blood. The other was dirty, as if it had been used to wipe something off._

* * *

"So what?!" Barrett snapped. "So he was in the dome when he cleaned himself off... that doesn't mean he was in the dome when Earl exploded."

"Yeah, it does," Juliet replied. "Wanna take us through it, Chessmistress?"

I glared but complied. "The door was padlocked from the outside. Ashley's body held the key, and by the time Earl died, Ashley was on the ground. There was no way back in the dome once Rogrido left. So, if he was in the dome when he cleaned himself off, he had to be in the dome when Earl died. So there's no way he lured Earl to the spot where Spice was planted."

"Rodrigo?" Katy said suddenly. "I'm not a detective, like I said. But it would really help if you spoke up. I...uh. I really don't think he did it, okay?"

We all looked at her in surprise, but Rodrigo's staid expression softened very slightly. "I will say nothing," he emphasized.

"Yeah, but... I think I know why you're not talking," Katy said hesitantly. "And... I don't get it, but I see how it makes sense for you. But I honestly don't think he did it."

"The fuck are you talking about?" Barrett snorted. "Who's 'he?'"

"Because think about it," Katy implored, completely ignoring Barrett. "Earl's murder had to be planned, right? There were bomb chemicals planted everywhere. Jane said the chemicals were stolen at lunchtime! So he couldn't have gone and killed Earl. It'd have to be planned way before."

I suddenly realized what she was talking about, and I found myself impressed as much as I was surprised. I hadn't figured this part out, myself.

Rocky understood too, and he let out a squawk of protest. 'What the fuck, Roddy?!"

Rodrigo closed his eyes tightly and put his fingers on the side of his head as if he was in pain.

"I made a promise!" Rocky snapped. "I'm dumb, but I know what a promise is!"

"Oh, are you fucking kidding me?" Nicole spat. "They were staying quiet to protect _each other_... and didn't even know it?!" She threw her hands up in the air. "Of all the stupid..."

"It actually makes sense," I mused. "If Rodrigo saw someone try to commit murder, and then later that same night saw someone get murdered, of course he's going to think the same person is responsible."

Jane nodded. "And if speaking up gets Rocky killed..."

"That means he's broken his vow," Katy finished.

Rodrigo wasn't looking at anyone; he was just staring down at his open palm.

"I can't believe this," Rocky muttered. "It's just stupid! It's... goddamn it, don't do this shit for _me_. A vow isn't worth helping a murderer! How is that all ten commandments?!"

Rodrigo looked up at the ceiling and sighed. "There were only immoral options," he admitted. "Either choice was dishonorable. I simply had to choose, and stand firm in my choice."

"And your choice was to stay quiet and let us all die?" Barrett sneered. "You selfish motherfucker, feeling all good about your vow and not even caring what happens to..."

"No." Rodrigo looked up at him, a strange strength in his eyes. "I allowed Friend Earl to make the choice, and I still stand behind it, even if I have been exposed."

"Hold on," Katy said, "what do you mean you let Earl choose?"

"Tonight..." Rodrigo looked like he was roiling with either anger or disgust, and I couldn't tell which. "Tonight I witnessed something that should only exist in nightmares. I witnessed a man give in to his inner darkness, and then I saw him destroyed. As I..." he shuddered slightly, "...cleaned his residue off me, I prayed for guidance. I concluded that I must remember and honor the _best_ of my friend, and trust for everything else to work out on its own. Friend Earl would aver that a man stays true to his vows, no matter what, so that is how I proceeded."

He took a deep breath. "I am doubly relieved. That Friend Katy has discovered the truth despite my reticence, and that Friend Rocky is unstained."

"You stupid asshole!" Rocky suddenly yelped. "This is not shit you should do for me! Now Juliet and I are still alive, and who the fuck knows what's going to happen!"

But Rodrigo just shook his head. "Friend Rocky, you are the heart of our group, even if you don't know it yet. I do not know what will happen, but I have trust in your goodness."

I noticed but tried to ignore the sparkle in Katy's eyes or the contempt in Nicole's. "Uh. Okay. I think we all know there's no way Rocky could be guilty, right?"

Rodrigo nodded. "He wasn't present when Ashley died, and I am certain he stole no chemicals today. Very well, I will give my testimony."

"Fuckin' finally," Nicole muttered. She shook her head again in disgust. "If you're so loyal to someone after knowing them for two weeks, then you're not loyal to anyone. This is the problem with choirboys like you; it doesn't just matter if you do good, it matter who you do good _to_."

"I will be eager to discuss ethics with you once the trial is over, Friend Nicole," Rodrigo replied kindly. She just snorted dismissively.

"Tell us about Ashley's murder first," Bepi said. "Then we'll get to what you know about Earl."

Rodrigo nodded. He took a deep breath, which I noticed had a slight hitch in it; he was holding it together, but still a piece of him was broken. He began to speak:

 _The planning of the murder apparently began earlier this week. The culprit intended to drive his tank away tonight... though in retrospect that may have been a lie. He convinced Friend Ashley, with whom he had recently begun a physical relationship, that he needed to use fear to keep anyone from interfering in his plans._

 _This evening, unrelatedly, Friend Rocky went to the student stores and bought an icepick. I was concerned he intended to commit murder, and for multiple reasons, I was determined to stop him. I became certain of his intentions when he unlocked Foul Juliet's prison and hid himself, so I intervened in his attack, allowing Juliet to escape and receiving a wound on my left arm._

 _Once Friend Rocky calmed, I attempted to discuss his angry, tempestuous nature, but it is so alien to mine, I was unable to understand. However, he promised he would not attempt murder again, and I accepted his oath._

 _I was both injured and emotionally upset, so I retired to a location I found comforting to redress my wounds and to pray for guidance. I went to Friend Emily's telescope room... a place that, to me, symbolizes hope and possibility._

 _While I was there, Friend Ashley went to the armory in the ROTC and acquired an unloaded pistol, which she hoped would serve to discourage anyone from sabotaging the plot to start the tank. She and the culprit arrived at the roof at some point... I first knew of their presence when one or both of them chained the door to the dome. They also blocked the trapdoor with a large computer terminal._

 _I could not see what was happening outside, but I could hear. They spoke quietly about their plans for the night, then there was the rustling of clothes. Suddenly, I head a loud crack and Friend Ashley made a short wailing sound before going quiet. Soon afterwards, I heard a loud siren, which I later learned was from the burning ROTC building._

 _I had been hoping to remain unnoticed, but I knew I must act. I finished bandaging my wound and set up the ladder at the open shutter. When I climbed to the top, I saw the culprit carrying Friend Ashley's body to the edge of the roof and toss her off. He shouted something, then turned around and noticed me. He appeared horrified and guilty that I was there, but just for a moment before he... exploded._

 _The force of the explosion knocked me off the ladder; I fell and hurt my hip. I wiped the culprit's remains off my face, climbed back up the ladder, and escaped._

 _I had intended to stay quiet during the trial out of fear that Friend Rocky was the killer. I now believe he is innocent. Based on what I witnessed, the psychological insights of friend Katy, and the fact that the murder scene was barred from all others, the culprit in the death of Ashley Coelho is none other than her most trusted comrade: **Earl Morale, the Ultimate Tank Commander!**_

Bepi took the story in slowly, then nodded. "I think we should vote on him now before we finish talking about Earl's murder," he said. "Anyone disagree?"

I examined everyone's faces carefully and didn't perceive much deception when they nodded or verbally assented. "Hey, bear!" Bepi yelled. "We're ready to vote on the first murder!"

Monokuma scratched his head. "First murder?"

"Yeah, Ashley's."

Monokuma stomped his foot and threw up his paws in exasperation. "Your stupid generation can't understand rules at all! There's no 'first murder' and 'second murder' in a class trial! You just vote once! And you vote about the victim, Earl Morale!"

Bepi appeared highly annoyed, but he only showed it with a glare. "You. Told us. Like an hour ago. We were voting. On both murders."

"In a truly moral society, masculinity and femininity must be in balance!" Monokuma snapped back. "When men are feminized, it leads to chaos and decay!"

"Oh for fuck's sake," Nicole muttered.

"You will vote once, and it's for the murderer of Earl Morale, and then I'll execute someone or many someones!" Monokuma said, emphasizing every word.

"So no justice for Ashley, then?" Bepi asked.

"Nope! You'll just have to keep on never knowing who really killed her!"

Bepi didn't say anything. I decided to step in before things got too complicated. "Okay. Okay then, let's just refocus. Okay?" I tried to smile at Bepi and he glared back. "For everyone's sake, let's just focus on what's important right now: Figuring out who killed Earl."

After a tense moment, he finally nodded. "Fine. Rodrigo, what happened after you got out of the telescope dome?"

Rodrigo faltered for a moment, then recentered. "Ah. I looked around to make sure no one was hiding anywhere. Then I moved the terminal and descended the ladder."

"And then you ran into us?" I asked.

"No. Something happened before that." He hung his head slightly. "I was... ashamed in myself for allowing more murders to occur, and I was beset with roiling emotions from all that had happened. I did not want to see anyone else. And as I wended through the top floor, I heard the door open. I quickly hid myself, waited for footsteps to walk past, and then I hied from the room as quietly as I could. Then, in the staircase, I met you, Friend Lucina, and Juliet."

I glanced over at Lucina and nodded back. That made sense.

* * *

 ** _FACT 16: SOUNDS IN STAIRWELL_**  
 _Lucina says she heard a door open and close twice while we were in the stairwell._

* * *

"So while we were going upstairs, someone was at the top of the stairs and went into the fifth floor. Then, as we were approaching the top, Rodrigo left the fifth floor and came into the stairwell."

Juliet laughed brightly. "Oh, my goodness. And other than Rodrigo, we didn't encounter anyone else going down, did we? And since there's nowhere to hide but on the fifth floor..."

"Someone was in the room with us when we were investigating," I finished. "Rodrigo hid from someone among the computers, and then that person hid from us."

Lucina gripped her stomach anxiously and held up a message, _Was it the killer?_

"Whoever it is, they were doing something pretty skeezy," Rocky said.

"Trying to destroy evidence, of course," Juliet said. "But luckily, they didn't have time."

I raised an eyebrow. "What evidence would they want to clean up?"

Juliet laughed condescendingly. "Just the most important evidence we found!" she exclaimed.

* * *

 ** _FACT 14: PUDDLE AT THE LADDER_**  
 _A clear puddle of liquid was at the base of the ladder leading up to the science center's roof. Shards of glass were scattered through the puddle. The liquid smelled like chocolate._

* * *

"If that puddle had been cleaned up, we wouldn't have known for sure that Barrett's three chemicals were involved," Juliet explained.

I frowned at that, but I wasn't sure where she was going with it. "We might have deduced that," I said.

"But we couldn't have connected the dots." She was smiling a devious smile, like a cobra or a panther. "And we wouldn't have seen the missing dot that leads us directly to the killer."

"You know who the killer is?!" Rocky yelped.

"Of course!" she trilled. "One chemical was painted onto the soles of Earl's shoes. The second chemical was at the base of the ladder... he had to step through it to reach the roof. But the third chemical remains a mystery. A mystery to all but the killer." She grinned over at her prey. "Isn't that right... Jane?"

There was a tense silence; Jane looked speechless. "I beg your pardon?!" she eventually sputtered.

"It's very simple," Juliet explained. "This entire mystery depends on the locations of the three chemicals. So I bet you would all be interested in the location of this third chemical, hm? Spice, I believe it was called."

* * *

 ** _FACT 24: BOTTLE IN JANE'S COAT_**  
 _Jane's trench coat had a bottle of spicy-smelling liquid in the pocket._

* * *

"I absolutely never had that chemical!" Jane argued, red-faced with either indignation or anxiety.

"Oh, but you did," Juliet said. "And that's not the only chemical, either. A scientific mind would want to be careful, wouldn't she? She'd want to protect herself. And you were one of the few individuals in position to have worn another key piece of evidence."

* * *

 ** _FACT 13: HAZMAT SUIT AND MASK_**  
 _In the science center stairwell, there was a hazmat suit and breathing mask, which together would cover someone's whole body. Both were slimy when we found them._

* * *

"She was in the east quad all day and had time to prepare the murder. She was on Earl's 'team' and so probably knew his plans. And she was working on a mysterious 'project' to alter her own body. No doubt something to help her get away with this murder."

"My project was..." but then Jane cut herself off and took a deep breath. "No. If you haven't noticed, you don't deserve to know. And I refuse to acknowledge this foolish notion with a response."

"You can't even defend yourself?" Juliet mused. "How interesting."

"We still haven't answered the question of how the killer lured Friend Earl to the place where he died," Rodrigo pointed out. "I still fail to understand how Friend Jane could do such a thing."

"She didn't have to," Juliet answered. "We've been misunderstanding this case from the beginning. The killer wasn't targeting Earl in particular. She simply left chemicals all around, waiting for someone to step in all three." She put her hand on her chest and gasped in mock horror. "Why, any of us could still be killed in the same way. The campus is still a literal minefield."

"Shit!" Nicole muttered. "Christ, I knew Jane was fucked up, but I didn't know she was so psycho she wouldn't even care who she killed."

"It could have been any of us?" Rocky asked anxiously.

"Wait," I said. "Juliet... you know as well as anyone that's not true. We have evidence the killer was specifically targeting Earl. His boots, right? The soles were coated."

"That does mean he was targeted alone. Jane could have put chemicals on lots of different items."

"But that's not all," I insisted. "There's more evidence that Earl was specifically targeted. You're the one who told me about it."

* * *

 ** _FACT 22: SMELL NEAR TANK_**  
 _Juliet claims that she smelled chocolate near Earl's tank, just before the murders._

* * *

"The chemicals smelled really distinctive," I said. "We only found them planted in three places, and all three relate to Earl. Sugar was on the soles of his shoes, and Everything Nice was at the ladder to the roof where his meeting was and right next to his tank. We didn't smell it anywhere else."

"Hm," Barrett mused. "You didn't smell Spice anywhere? The only place you found it was in this bird's coat?"

I crossed my arms, frowning. "So either the killed got really lucky, or they did find some way to lure Earl over to the exact place they planted Spice. Those are the only two options."

Rodrigo held up a cautious finger. "Friend Saya... it... is not the only option."

"What do you mean?" Bepi asked.

"I have no idea how this could be," he answered hesitantly, "but... if it remains deeply implausible that Earl died by encountering the third chemical... perhaps the three chemicals were not what killed him."

"What?!" Barrett snapped. "That's a fucking insult!"

"But how?" Nicole asked.

"As I said, I know not," Rodrigo replied. "I simply intend for us to expand the range of possibilities about this case."

"If it wasn't the chemicals, then why did we find them all over the place?" Juliet asked.

Lucina held up a new message, _To make us think it was the chemicals._

"Ahh," Jane said. "So that's why the bottle of Spice was in my coat. I feel a bit flattered that the killer thought of me when deciding who to frame."

"Do you see what she's doing?" Juliet said with alarm. "Trying to reconstruct the situation so she's not under suspicion! But no matter how Earl died, it still could have been Jane."

"Juliet." I couldn't hold it in anymore. "Stop."

She just looked blankly back at me.

"She doesn't even think Jane did it," I continued. "Jane couldn't have been the one who snuck up ahead of us to the fifth floor, because we left her in the lab!"

* * *

 _She turned away and began fiddling with some nearby equipment. I don't think she was actually doing anything, but it was clear she was disinviting us from any further conversation. Glancing at my compatriots, I led them away to the staircase._

* * *

Juliet shrugged. "That doesn't mean..."

"Juliet..." I sighed. "You're killing me."

She stared for a moment then laughed lightly. "Oh well. You can't blame me, can you? I told you, my heart sometimes leads me to sabotage, but I'll never do it well."

"Wait... you were trying to lead us to the wrong person to get everyone killed?!" Rocky exclaimed.

Juliet just shrugged. "What do you want? I'm evil."

"This whole thing is stupid!" Barrett suddenly barked. "There's no explosives anyone could use without my chemicals! I should know!"

"That's not true at all," Bepi said. "There were all sorts of explosives right nearby."

* * *

 _Bepi had led us to a room that was completely filled with weapons. Guns, grenades, flame throwers, rocket launchers... all lined up and ready for use._

 _And every one of these weapons had Monokuma's grinning face plastered on it._

* * *

"Oh, don't be stupid," Barrett sneered. "Those were off-limits."

"Monokuma told us only Ashley took a weapon out of the armory," I said.

"It's true!" Monokuma confirmed. "I have suffered no damage, but even if I have, the security cameras are an entire other system! I can absolutely guarantee that only one weapon was taken from the armory, and I already handed over the video of it."

"Hey, everyone," I said. "I... am getting a feeling something really shady's up with this armory thing. Can we try to remember the exact wording of the rule?"

Bepi nodded. "It was displayed on the sign."

* * *

 _We turned to where he was looking; the inside of the door we'd come in through. In big, white letters, a sign there said,_ _ **NOTICE: ANY VIDEO FOOTAGE OF STUDENTS REMOVING WEAPONS FROM THIS ROOM WILL BE AVAILABLE FROM UNIVERSITY ADMINISTRATORS UPON REQUEST**_

* * *

"And remember what Monokuma said when we were asking him about it?"

* * *

 _"Wait," I said. "You give us all these weapons, but you'll expose anyone who uses them? What's the point?"_

 _"College is about teaching critical thinking!"_

* * *

Jane raised an eyebrow. "You believe there was a loophole in the rules?"

Bepi gripped his lectern as if keeping himself from falling over. "Shit. Yes. Yes, there was a loophole, right in front of us, and I didn't see it." He looked around to everyone, a grim frown across his face. "Because remember something else about the armory?"

* * *

 _At that moment, there was a muffled but still surprisingly loud whoop from outside the building. I went to a window; we were on the second floor, so I could see the quad spread out below me._

* * *

"It had a window overlooking the quad. So what if..."

"What if someone used a weapon... without taking it out of the room?" Nicole finished, looking gobsmacked. "What do you think... a rocket?"

Bepi laughed humorlessly. "It's poetic. Earl died by being shot with an anti-tank weapon."

* * *

 _I sighed at a Monokuma-faced rocket launcher, which had a Monokuma-faced rocket sticking out of it. "But rigid cataloging kind of takes the excitement out of everything, doesn't it?"_

 _"Welcome to the army," Bepi replied. He looked over at the piece of equipment Ashley was indicating. "Wolfsbane howitzer A23."_

 _"You're a couple of idiots," Ashley grunted as I searched through the stack of manuals. "This is exactly why you're at the mercy of the world, instead of the other way around. We're going from ignorance of everything in this room to complete, organized knowledge, all at our fingertips whenever we need it! You should find this energizing." She pointed at the rocket launcher I'd just been eyeing._

 _"E44 Defender," Bepi said. "It's an anti-tank weapon. Don't tell Earl."_

* * *

"No!" Barrett argued. "That's impossible! We woulda seen the trail of smoke the rocket left behind!"

"We did," I pointed out. "We just misinterpreted it."

* * *

 ** _FACT 3: ROOFTOP EXPLOSION (revised)_**  
 _According to Barrett, the explosion that killed Earl was destructive, but it didn't have a wide range. He says his explosives could create that kind of result. There was a big trail of smoke leading away from the explosion; Barrett says that might happen if Earl was carrying something solid with him, like a piece of metal._

* * *

"We thought that trail was blown out from the explosion. But what if it was going the other way?"

Rodrigo raised a finger in the air. "I'm afraid I'm lost with the discussion of technology," he said. "But the construction of plausible narratives of a murder must be supported with evidence. Is there anything indicating Earl might indeed have been shot with this weapon?"

"Yeah, there is," Bepi answered. "Some pretty good evidence, I think. We found the rocket."

* * *

 ** _FACT 24: PIECE OF METAL_**  
 _There was a curved piece of metal in the east quad. It was damaged, but I could tell one side was painted white and black, and the other side was plain metal._

* * *

"White and black," Rodrigo mused. "Indeed, the implements of war were all decorated so."

"Oh, come on!" Barrett yelled. "Are you all stupid? No one could have shot Earl out the window, because remember what was going on? The building was on fucking fire! You'd get all burned up!"

"Oh, even I know this one!" Rocky said. "You came up with the way to fix that!"

* * *

 _Barrett dipped his right hand into the black liquid. Then, without another word, he thrust his hand directly into the flame._

 _I instantly wanted to grab his arm and pull it out of danger, but his smile didn't waver. "Lasts at least an hour, full heat protection, no side effects." He paused. "Well okay, it'll give you gangrene if you don't wash it off." He walked to a nearby sink and began rinsing his hand. "Fire and protection," he called over his shoulder. "Remember this shit, Saya, might save your fucking life."_

* * *

"But we'd know if someone used that, right?" Nicole asked. "You'd have to put it all in your hair and everything."

Lucina held up a note. _I think we found the way it was used._

* * *

 ** _FACT 13: HAZMAT SUIT AND MASK_**  
 _In the science center stairwell, there was a hazmat suit and breathing mask, which together would cover someone's whole body. Both were slimy when we found them._

* * *

"If you coat the whole thing in the anti-fire gel, you'd be totally protected, including from the smoke," I agreed.

"This does all tie together," Jane said. "We suspected the killer went upstairs before just before Saya and the others. They shot Earl, ran across the quad, and discarded their hazmat suit on the way up to the fifth floor. Then they hid in the computer room while the investigators proceeded to the roof."

"But why go upstairs?" Rocky asked. "That's dumb. Why kill someone and then run right over to where people are gonna be investigating?"

"And this doesn't solve the problem we had before," Nicole added. "The killer would have had a good shot on Earl standing on the edge of the roof. But how did they lure him there?"

I rubbed my chin in thought. "Everyone... let's think about the chemicals. Why plant the chemicals, if you're going to just shoot him with a rocket launcher?"

"Misdirection," Katy answered. "Make everyone think he died a different way."

"Not just that," Jane added. "But also to frame me. The third bottle was put in my coat. You'll forgive me if this particular aspect of the case looms large to me."

"Right," I said. "And to frame Jane, you need to make it appear that Earl picked up Sugar _and_ Everything Nice at some point during the night. That way, Spice is the missing piece. But there's an element that's been bothering me: the fact that Everything Nice was found in two different places. Why put it by the tank AND by the ladder?"

"Maybe they planned to shoot him in the tank?" Bepi suggested. Then he paused. "It was a goddamn anti-tank weapon, of course they planned to shoot him in the tank."

Rocky frowned. "They're staked out in the armory, ready to shoot the rocket out the window. But then... there he is. Standing on the edge of the roof, right there, a sitting duck."

Katy squinted in thought. "They had this big plan... but just shot him on impulse before he went to the right spot?!"

"That would answer why they had to run over to the fifth floor of the science center," I replied. "They had to plant Everything Nice where Earl would have stepped, or their misdirection wouldn't work."

"Hold on," Nicole said. "How do you know that's what they did? They coulda planted that earlier."

"No," I said, "they couldn't have."

* * *

 _Unfortunately, we had to walk back through the puddle and broken glass to get away from the ladder: it was too far to jump clear._

* * *

 ** _FACT 26: RODRIGO'S FEET_**  
 _Rodrigo's feet were dirty, but otherwise there was nothing unusual I could discern on them._

* * *

"Everything Nice had to be put around the ladder after Rodrigo left the roof. Otherwise, he would have walked through both the chemical and the broken glass."

"So," Jane said, "the killer threw the bottle of Everything Nice at the base of the ladder and then hid themselves on the fifth floor while Saya and the others investigated."

"Ugh!" Barrett shouted. "Who cares!? You're telling stories left and right, but this ain't helping! All that matters is who did it!" He kicked his lectern; there was a huge cracking sound and it bent. "Fuck this! Fuck all this!"

Rodrigo held a hand. "Friend Barrett..."

"No! This is all bullshit!" He pointed a finger at him, then at Juliet, then finally, with a frothing mouth, at me. "I know what's going on. This is all just to confuse everyone. You make up these crazy stories and go over the same useless evidence over and over and over. This is lawyers and cops and politicians, I seen it a million times. You're just setting up someone to get railroaded. Make sure no one knows what's going on"

I tried to speak up. "No, we..."

He punched his lectern and it broke off, clattering into the dingy hotel convention corner. "Shut up! Your fuckin' games, thinking you're smarter than everyone. I've burned up people like you. Thinking you're Miss Genius while everyone just waits to see you get fuckin' taken down. Either admit you don't know shit or tell us who did it, either way your goddamn games stop now."

I looked straight at him. He was huge and terrible, but he felt totally distant, like someone yelling at me behind plexiglass. "Fine. I'll get to the point: The killer is the one who wore the hazmat suit. That's all we needed."

Barrett hissed at me. "What the fuck are you even talking about?"

"The killer went to the science center," I explained. "And they wore the hazmat suit while they were doing it. That gives away their identity."

"How?!" he yelped.

"Because of the smoke." Now that I realized it, it was the most obvious thing in the world. "The smoke from your awesome fire, Barrett."


	29. Topics in Cosmology: Part H

"Anyone who was in the quad during the fire should be pretty identifiable. Right, Jane?" I tilted my head at her.

She took a step back. "Why are you asking me, darling?"

"Because you pointed it out."

* * *

 _"Ugh," she grunted, wrinkling her nose. "You all smell like ashtrays. Is the bear going to clean up before we have to go outside? I don't want to die of smoke inhalation on my way to the trial."_

* * *

"You didn't smell like smoke, because you were inside the science center. But anyone who was outside in the east quad before the fans turned on should smell like smoke." I then looked right at the killer. "Unless they were wearing the hazmat suit."

The killer looked back at me coolly. She gave nothing away, even then.

* * *

 _I blinked uncomfortably. She was very close; I could smell that beautiful, flowery scent she'd been wearing, and her perfect hair and make-up seemed to mockingly fill my whole vision._

* * *

She didn't say anything.

"She didn't smell like smoke, but she should have, according to her own story."

* * *

 _She grinned, then tapped her chin thoughtfully. "I came over from the main quad, I dunno, a couple of minutes ago, but shit was all crazy outside, so once I saw the tank was still there, I came in here." She shrugged. "I was hoping to run into Earl and Ashley, actually. Not my night, I guess."_

* * *

She took a deep breath.

"Do you have anything to say, Nicole?" I asked.

But Barrett replied. "You're full of shit," he grumbled.

"I was only in the quad for a little bit," she said, finally. "That wasn't enough..."

"No," I interrupted. "It didn't take much, even before the whole quad was filled."

* * *

 _Katy looked back at me, er grin very odd and manic. "Hey, could I ask you something real quick? It's about the thing we talked about before... the private thing."_

 _I raised an eyebrow, but allowed her to lead me a few feet away. She looked haggard but generally fine. Her clothes and hair smelled like charcoal, even though she'd only spent a couple of minutes in the east quad when the smoke wasn't even too bad yet, but her eyes were bright and focused._

* * *

"It fits Nicole, doesn't it?" Katy said, sounding horrified. "Crazy-smart, complicated idea, but she sees him and just... takes the shot, even though it wrecked her plan."

"It's all a lie," Nicole insisted.

"There's something else," I said.

"Oh, of course there is," she snapped. "There always fucking is, right?" She sneered at me. "Fuckin' Judge Saya, huh? Special Agent Saya? You were The Man all along, and The Man always wins."

"Fuck that!" Barrett screeched. "Saya doesn't know shit! She..."

"Oh, shut up," Nicole muttered, and he actually did. "Let the story end the way the story's gotta end. Not everything's about you, fuckboy." She looked back at me. "Go. Say your shit."

I coughed slightly, then recentered. "Okay. Nicole, when we talked to you, you said something kind of weird. You made an assumption that stuck out to me."

* * *

 _She noticed the bottle in Lucina's hand. "Oh fuck, is that..." She ran over, grabbed the bottle, and smelled it. "Spice. Where'd you find that?"_

 _Lucina pointed at Jane's coat. Nicole rubbed the back of her head thoughtfully. "Well, damn it. If someone's been playing with those chemicals, no wonder there was an explosion." She glanced around at the three of us. "You all know what to smell for, so keep alert. It'd be real easy to set a trap with those."_

* * *

Rocky scratched the back of his head in confusion. "Uh... what? What assumption did she make there?"

"She said all three of us know what Barrett's chemicals smelled like," I explained. "And that not only wasn't correct, it was a really strange thing to think was correct. Who would tell Juliet about how to identify the dangerous chemicals?"

"I would misuse that knowledge very horribly," Juliet confirmed.

"I don't get it," Rocky said. "Why's that mean Nicole is the killer?"

"Because I was trying to think of why she'd get such a weird impression," I answered. "And... well, I have a pretty good memory. I think I know what happened."

* * *

 _I looked at Lucina seriously. "You know the other two smells, right?" She nodded. "I don't think Juliet does, though."_

 _Lucina wrote out a response,_ Me neither, but Ashley knew.

 _"What?! How did she find out?!"_

Jane told that whole "group." I heard Ashley talking about it yesterday.

 _I sighed. "Okay, that might change a lot. Thanks for telling me."_

* * *

"I knew Juliet didn't know what the chemicals smelled like. But someone who was overhearing would get a different impression. They'd think Lucina told me otherwise. I can't think of any other reason someone who think Juliet knew."

Nicole's mouth was a thin line, but then she just sighed. "This is so fucked up. You hear me, Saya? I trust you and you narc me out."

"Wait, are you confessing?" Barrett asked. "She doesn't have anything!"

"She's got everything," Nicole snapped. "I shouldn't have... goddamn it. I knew it. You can't ever win. People like me aren't ever gonna win."

"People like you?" Bepi asked, raising an eyebrow. "You mean murderers?"

"Desperate people," she confirmed, staring him straight in the eye. "Yes." The expression on her face was almost terrifying in its contempt. "You're the worst of 'em," she said. "You have every goddamn reason to hate the bullshit system they got us spinning in. They been tearing you up since you were a little kid. And you ain't white!" She paused. "Wait, hold on, are you white?"

"I legit don't know. I'm an orphan."

"If they can't tell you're white for sure, you ain't white," she spat. "And now they got you in here with us. And you try to just opt out, try to just sit alone off in the back, like it'll save you. You fucking coward, see where it got you? It got your friend killed. _Your person_ got killed, because you tried to opt out."

"What about your people?" Bepi spat. "You're supposed to be helping your family, right? That's all you care about. Get rich with fashion and save them. And you throw it away with some pointless murder?!"

"Oh yeah, the great American story," she growled. "You gotta leave the hood to save the hood, and what happens when you go back to actually do it?Changing the hood doesn't look so great anymore. 'They're being irresponsible and lazy and I earned my money!' Fuck that. Fuck buying in."

"Fuck buying in!" Barrett shouted. "Ye..." He suddenly stopped, because Nicole's notebook suddenly whapped him right in the nose. He staggered back, then looked up at her with rage in his eyes and blood dripping down from both nostrils. "You bitch! Y..." Her boot came next, slamming right into his eye. He dropped to a knee, swearing.

"Oh, shut up, fuckboy," Nicole said. "If you get outta this place, then in two years you'll be demolishing poor folks' houses to make room for Amazon or whoever. This place takes weak fucks and molds 'em into soldiers defending everything unfair about the world. That's the whole point, and it's working. I see it working."

"Is that why you did it?" Katy asked. "You think we're all going to get... get turned into people who just defend the status quo? Even if it's awful?"

Nicole laughed then, bitterly bit also with genuine humor. "You say that like it's not what every college is for."

"What could some of us even do?" I asked. "I play chess. How would I even be worth all this money and trouble to brainwash?"

"True believers are always useful," she answered, spitting the words like they tasted bitter. "Smart ones? Even more. And it's not just chess, anyway. It's the ultimate chess player _and_ the ultimate podcaster _and_ the ultimate instagrammer _and_ the ultimate architect and on and on. The tastemakers and intellectuals and fighters and... whoever. That's always been enough." She glared up at monokuma, who appeared to be baffled by his own paws. "This has always been the game. The poor folks and the beaten-down folks get madder and madder, but nothing changes, 'cause the ones on top keep coming up with new ways to win. Every generation, the young people say 'I'm gonna change shit,' and the old people say, 'Don't do it,' and nothing ever happens, not a thing."

She suddenly slammed a fist against her podium. "Fuck! I never had that breakthrough about the shoes. I was real close. Damn it." She sighed and looked up at me. "Saya, do your thing. Finish narcing me out."

"You murdered someone!" I defended. "You..."

"I ain't blaming you," she interrupted. "It's the right choice." She glared. "But don't you ever goddamn forget that you're killing a poor, black lady so you can stay alive. Don't you dare get comfortable with that shit."

I couldn't think of anything to say in response to that. I just began my narrative.

* * *

The planning for this murder began when the killer learned Earl was planning to drive his tank away this evening. They knew there were anti-tank rocket launchers in the armory, and they also realized that they would not be caught by Monokuma's rule if they used the weapon from inside the armory itself.

After stealing the chemicals from the lab this afternoon, they began leaving evidence around in order to direct us away from the real cause of the explosion they planned. They went to Earl's extra boots in his locker and painted the soles with Sugar. They poured Everything Nice on the ground near Earl's tank. And, they planted the bottle of Spice in Jane's trench coat.

After Barrett set the fire, the killer needed to get into the ROTC quickly. To protect themself from the flames, they coated a hazmat suit and breathing mask in the anti-fire gel, allowing them easy access to the armory. They got a rocket launcher and went to the window, ready to use it when Earl went to the tank.

However, Earl threw Ashley's body off the science center and stood on the edge of the roof. Unable to resist such an easy target, and seeing all the witness's backs turned to the ROTC, the killer shot him with the rocket launcher.

As a result of this impulsive action, the killer now needed to improvise. They sneaked through the quad, hidden by the smoke, and into the science center to plant Everything Nice somewhere Earl would have stepped. They discarded their hazmat suit halfway up the stairs and ran to the fifth floor.

They knew that we were close behind them, so they only had time to throw the bottle of Everything Nice at the bottom of the ladder before hiding themselves among the old computer modules while we investigated.

After we went back downstairs to search the locker room, the killer just followed us, claiming they had just come in from the quad. This one small lie was what ended up exposing them. Based on the evidence, the killer of Earl Morale could only be **Nicole Archina, the Ultimate Fashion Designer**!

* * *

Bepi looked very disturbed, but he waved his hand to get Monokuma's attention. "Is it time to vote?"

Monokuma had a tablet out, and he was poking at the screen frantically. "Uh. Yes. But!" He threw the tablet down. "You idiot kids are too attached to technology! So... so for this trial, we will vote the old-fashioned way. So, uh, you all think Nicole Archina did it, huh? Does anyone object?"

"Yes!" Barrett screeched, his crusty blood on his upper lip. "This is fuckin..."

I don't know how, but Nicole got her hands on Katy's stiletto shoe. She threw it at Barrett and it hit him right in the face. "There are no objections," she said.

No one else said anything. Monokuma sighed with relief. "All right, because I did not have a plan to deal with objections! And you're right! The killer of Earl Morale is Nicole Archina!"

Katy stared with wide eyes. "I didn't want to believe it, even though I thought it was true," she said. "Nicole... did you really do it to kill us all? Do you really think we're that dangerous?"

"Maybe? Shit, I don't know. Some of you might go right. But it's risky." She shrugged. "Truth is, gettin' the rest of you was just a bonus. I already killed the one who really needed to die."

"What?" Rocky looked like he couldn't decide whether to be horrified or unsurprised. "What do you mean?"

"He's the type to win and win and win, always thinking he's doing the right thing," Nicole said. "He would have been the worst. But... that's not all." She vaguely shuddered. "I saw him and Ashley meet up. They didn't know I was there, and they talked about the plan to meet on the roof. I think they kissed, but I couldn't see. But I looked at the end. They were facing each other, and Earl had this big smile just like always. And Ashley turned around, and... his face just changed. He had the kind of hate and cruelty and... fuck, I can't even describe it. He charmed her and then behind her back he was just filled up with murder. So no matter what, I did good getting rid of him."

Bepi's fist was clenched so tight, I was surprised his fingernails weren't drawing blood. "You did. None of the rest of us saw him for what he was."

Monokuma was poking at various buttons on a nearby control panel. "I think... the execution is ready? I mean, of course it is! I'm fine. It'll be great!"

"Hey, this isn't fair!" Katy argued. "She killed a killer! That's just the execution you were gonna do anyway!"

"I don't make the rules," Monokuma said airily. "She robbed Earl Morale of an ironic death, and that is the greatest crime of all."

Nicole sighed. I realized she looked tired and that was literally the first time I'd ever seen her look like that. "I'm real good at fashion; it's a shame none of y'all ever really saw what I could do," she replied. "But I was never gonna fix everything with fashion. I kept thinking, 'Don't be stupid, just make your cash and get your family out.' I've always aimed too high, though." She smiled genuinely. "Except with the rocket launcher. I aimed that perfect."

"We're not going to let them twist us into being on their side," Katy insisted. "We won't."

Nicole smiled sadly and a little kindly. "Maybe you really won't. I guess one day, some young generation has to finally take a stand. Maybe it's time."

"All right!" Monokuma announced. "It's execution time!" He pulled a lever next to him.

Nicole still had that soft smile. "So if that's y'all, make sure I get mentioned as a martyr for the revolution, okay? I'm..." She suddenly gasped and pointed at me. "Saya! I forgot! Your dark grey turtleneck is done! It's in my room! You're gonna look so..." and the floor opened up underneath her and she dropped into the darkness.

* * *

 ** _POWER CLASHING_**  
 _the execution of NICOLE ARCHINA_

 _The television monitors were working, and they flickered to life. Nicole lay on a huge swath of fabric. She looked around with disorientation for a moment, then struggled... she was tied with thread and could not move._

 _Nearby, there was a huge, horrible machine chugging and thumping. At first it looked like just a misshapen monster, but I realized it was a giant sewing machine needle and motor. Slowly, inevitably, the cloth started moving, pulling her towards the terrible needle._

 _Then, very suddenly, the machine stopped. Nicole lay there for a moment, a very confused expression on her face. Two Monokumas ran out, both carrying paddles, and began whapping her with them. The cloth, unable to bear the weight of all three of them, tore, and Nicole fell again, and the screen went dark._

 _The lights came back up. Nicole was lying on a giant chess board. She stood up, groggily looking around. She was not given much time to get her bearings before a giant paintbrush descended from the sky and painted, in the air next to her, an angry-looking wolf. Impossibly, somehow, the wolf began to move. It stomped and snarled and then ran directly at Nicole, who just helplessly covered her face._

 _The wolf didn't get to her, because it was intercepted by a lion. A bull then slammed into the lion and ran several steps before being stung by a scorpion and falling down dead. Two fish flopped on the chess board nearby as a crab pinched the scorpion in half._

 _Nicole just took a step back watching this display, seeming far more confused than afraid. She didn't even look surprised when she noticed that there was a shadow over her head that was getting bigger and bigger. She looked up. I don't know if she had any time to register what was happening before it was over._

 _A tank had fallen from above, directly on top of her. It sat, indented into the chess board. The treads slowly came to life, pulling the tank out of the impact crater. It left behind a terrible, huge streak of blood as it rumbled away._

* * *

"Good enough!" Monokuma shouted.

I couldn't feel much but sick. This had all just become inevitable. It really did feel just like a class; the third murder was on the syllabus just like an exam would be.

Barrett stormed away; I don't know where he went, but it wasn't towards the elevator. Monokuma didn't seem to care.

"Could she have been right about Earl?" Katy asked. "Or... or did she just want to lash out at someone she hated?"

"Everyone's wrong," Bepi growled. He glared up at Katy. "Don't think about it. Don't think about the way anyone thinks. Because it's bullshit. No one thinks they're bad, and everyone is. Earl was a monster. Nicole was a monster. Don't think about it." He looked over at Ashley's empty space in the circle. "You see this shit?!" he yelled at it. "You see how the big war of ideas ends? You..." His voice hitched and he trailed off.

I took a steep towards him. "Bepi..."

"No." He just looked steadily at me, voice cold. "It's too late for you. You blew it."

I froze, feeling bizarrely cold. "What?"

"Everyone knows now." He waved his hands around at everyone. "Saya's the detective. She solves the murder. You weren't careful enough. Now anyone with half a brain knows who to target."

Before I could even emotionally react to that, I heard Juliet laughing. "Ah," she said, "I had something to say about that." She smiled charmingly at Rodrigo, who tensed up like an angry dog. "Mr. Diaz, would you be a dear and pick up that paper I gave you earlier? The one you cleaned your neck off with?"

Slowly, distrustfully, Rodrigo walked to where the crumpled paper lay on the carpet. He picked it up. "I only do this because it is a sin to litter," he said.

"I wrote something on it before the trial," Juliet said. "I think everyone should know what it was."

Rodrigo slowly uncrumpled the paper and turned it. He looked at it, then his mouth fell open.

"What is it?" Rocky asked.

Rodrigo held out the paper for everyone to see. There were two words written on it: "EARL" and then, just below it, "NICOLE."

"Killing Saya won't save you," Juliet said, emotionlessly. "I'll always know." And she walked off toward the elevator.

The rest of us stood in silence for a moment. Nicole would have broken the silence, but, of course, she didn't.

 **MAIN QUAD**

We all slowly drifted off the elevator. I was looking for Lucina, but she somehow wandered off into the darkness. Juliet went back to the freezer: "Lock the door if you want," she said. I don't think anyone did. Rocky took Rodrigo off to wash the stab wound. And Bepi just stormed away towards the dorm.

Jane, Katy, and I stood in the cool night. It truly felt like autumn now; there was a nip in the air that felt fresh and halloween-y. Katy must have noticed too, because she said, "I love fall nights like this. Isn't that weird? A second ago I could only think that so many of us were gone, but now it just feels like a normal night. Maybe I'm going crazy." She paused for a moment, chewing on that. "It'd be pretty understandable to go crazy in a situation like this, huh?"

"Only if you're a weakling," Jane said shortly. She turned to us, stone-faced. "You both did well," she said. "Thank you."

It felt very strange to hear her say such a thing, even if her tone betrayed that she hated every second of it. I found myself smiling at her.

But then I froze and my mouth hung open. I was looking her in the face, closer than she usually let anyone get. And I'd been having the feeling that something was weird, and like a thunderbolt, I realized what it was. Her large eyes were regarding me coolly, and though it was a bit hard to see in the lamplight, I could tell that the hazel, colored part around the pupil...

"Your eyes..." Katy said. "You... have Emily's swirls."

"Ah. Yes. You noticed." There might or might not have been a blush on her cheeks. "It's been my project. Give myself something of hers, so I'd be sure to never forget."

We just gaped at her.

"Oh, don't make such a big deal out of it," she grumbled. "Goodness, it's like you've never seen anyone bio-engineer their eyes before." She turned and quickly walked off. I wasn't sure what I felt, but it was something.

 **DORM: HALLWAY**

Katy decided to walk around a bit before bed, so I hugged her goodbye. It really did feel like we were friends.

I headed up to the dorm hallway, barely holding my tiredness at bay. I felt stretched and beaten.

But then I turned the corner toward my room and I saw someone standing outside my door, and it was like I'd never been tired in my life. Lucina was there, leaning against the wall, and when she saw me, she waved shyly.

I approached, and she took my hand and pulled me in and embraced me tightly. She took several deep breaths, squeezing tighter with each one. I breathed, too.

She pulled back and looked down at me, a soft smile on her face. I felt her hand pressed on my cheek, and it was somehow both very soft and the only thing I could feel. She looked down at her feet for a moment, and then looked back at me, her eyes flashing with nervousness. She held up a message, _I don't want to be alone tonight._

I stared.

She kissed me.

I don't know how long it lasted. There was just the feeling: I needed her. My body needed her. She was opening herself to me, trusting me, and I needed it so badly.

I pulled away. She blinked, looking dazzled and confused.

"I, uh." I put my hand against the side of my head. "You shouldn't. I mean..." It was like I couldn't see, like I was just a feeling. "I'm sorry." I walked past her, opened the door to my room, and ran inside, shutting the door behind me.

I sat on the floor, my back leaning against the door. I was terrified she would knock and demand an explanation, but she didn't, and that felt like someone clawing me apart on the inside. I think I was crying.

* * *

I woke up, my back still leaning against the door to my room. It was barely light outside.

Ashley was dead. Earl was dead. Nicole was dead. Bepi was angry with me. Lucina...

Zombielike, I stood and lurched back out into the hall. I needed to explain. I needed to tell her how I felt, and how terrified I was, and how sorry I was if I made her think I didn't care.

I went to her door. The hallway was quiet in the morning light, and I stood there, breathing, trying to gather courage. I just had to knock, to talk to her, to explain. I stewed, minutes passing, recentering.

But then, before I was ready, the door opened. I froze, trying to think what I would say to her... but then I somehow froze up even more.

The person standing in Lucina's doorway, staring back at me in shock, was not Lucina. This person's normally neat clothes were stretched-out and rumpled. Her hair, which was normally done up in elaborate tails, draped down over her back like blue-silver water.

This time, finally, the message got through. _Katy can surprise you._

* * *

 _Q: Tell me about your parents, please.  
NA: Oh, they're great! Taught me how to survive, how to be a good person. Never had much time, but whatever, they used the time they had, you know?  
Q: Is there anything you wish they'd done differently?  
NA: No. Well... they have both totally given up. You know? You know how people just give up sometimes? Like life beats them down so hard, they forget how to stand back up.  
Q: Do you worry you'll give up like that, too?  
NA: No! Well actually, yeah. That's why I'm always doing things! I'm always telling myself, "Chill, don't do so much!" but it's better than doing nothing, right? I'd rather do a hundred stupid things than nothing. At least then, I don't miss out._


	30. Seminar on Aging and Adulthood, Part A

**New Hope University School of Ultimates: South Quad**

Even more so than the rest of the campus, NHU's South Quad is dedicated to the philosophy of change, evolution, and adaptability! As the best examples of the young generation, School of Ultimates students prove each day that learning and growth are values that can only be achieved through open-mindedness, tolerance, and flexibility! (though don't tell those stodgy old coots in the East Quad!)

 **Notable locations:**

 **Goins Social Science Pavilion  
** Move aside, stairs! Take a hike, hallways, floors, and ceilings! Always on the forefront of design and technology, NHU is proud to house the Goins Pavilion; not a building but rather an everchanging and everexpanding collection movable, educational "pods."

Each pod is dedicated to a single question within the larger field of social science. Can rats who have been dosed with ketamine distinguish between blue and purple? Does a country's rate of homelessness in anyway correlate with its rates of corn meal consumption? Why aren't psychopaths just murdering people all the time? How did ancient meso-Americans craft their percussive instruments? These are just a few of the important projects happening all around you in this exciting, fair-like atmosphere!  
 _Potential murder weapons: Highly variable._

* * *

 **DORM: UPSTAIRS HALLWAY**

Katy and I just looked at each other for a moment, matching shocked expressions on our faces. Then, just like the sun coming from behind clouds, she let out a huge, delighted smile.

She pressed her index finger up against her lips and pointed into Lucina's room. "She's sleeping!" she whispered. Then she grabbed me by the wrist and pulled me down the hallway towards her own room. I was too surprised to stop her from opening the door and pulling me inside.

In the safe and comfortable confines of her room, she grabbed me by both hands and jumped up and down, letting out a high-pitched squeak of joy. "Saya!" she sang, "she likes me, she likes me!"

She spun in a reeling circle, hugging herself, apparently not having noticed how nonplussed I was. "Of course, I have a certain effect on girls... I always have. But Lucina! Oh, how wonderful..."

I eventually found my voice in time to ask a very stupid and rude question. "Did you really have sex with her?"

"Oh, my!" Katy pressed both palms against her blushing cheeks, but her grin gave away her lack of embarrassment. "Oh, I could never give away personal details of my private adventures!" She waved her hand at me. "Naughty Saya."

Dumbly, I wondered why I wasn't able to turn my emotions off like I could when there was a murder. Was I actually feeling more from this than when someone died?

I found myself thinking of Nicole, and I realized I had a decision to make. She killed because she couldn't trust anyone, but she had hope for changing the world, too.

My mind filled with viciously seductive ways to ruin Katy. To make her think Lucina didn't really like her, to make her think everyone hated her for being gay, to ruin her confidence and kindness. I suddenly realized what the mastermind knew already... she'd be so easy to turn into a murder victim. Maybe not as easy as it seemed at first... but still easy.

But... that would prove Nicole right about the trust and wrong about the hope. And what a stupid, stupid thing to die for.

"I'm happy for you," I said.

She galloped in place. "Me too, me too! I'm not jumping any guns yet, of course, but I think this might turn into something! I have a sixth sense for girl's love, you know..."

I was clenching my left fist very, very hard, and I tried to clench it harder, sending all my anger and jealously down into that hand. I was able to smile softly. "Listen... I really am happy for you, but I think I'll have a really hard time hearing you talk about this. You don't have to hide anything, but, um... is it okay if you don't talk to me about it in detail?"

She gasped. "Oh! I'm so sorry, I didn't realize. Of course! Emily died and you never... oh Saya, I'm sorry to be so insensitive."

I nodded and it felt like rocks scraping against each other in my neck. "Yeah. I miss Emily."

She flung her arms around me and squeezed tight.

Before he died, Morgan told me that he trusted me. But I didn't trust him, and I really didn't trust the Vandal, and they were now dead. About half of us had died, all because we were idiots and couldn't trust each other.

I put my arms around Katy and squeezed back. I was in _college_ now; I was too mature to let some high-school drama wreck the trust I had in my allies.

Bizarrely, I felt myself relaxing.

 **MAIN QUAD**

After leaving Katy's room, I went to the gym and ran for a long time, and I felt better afterwards. I was succeeded at not thinking about anything, and I even got back into my chess-thinking groove. After a quick shower, I felt refreshed and rested, though not exactly back up to my usual self.

After I took literally one step out the door of the gym, I heard a loud banging noise cut through the air. I shrieked and dropped to the ground, covering my head. The banging noise continued rhythmically.

I looked up and saw, sitting in the middle of the quad, a collection of electronic equipment surrounding Rocky and Rodrigo, who were talking casually. I noticed there were speakers set up, and the banging noise was an electronic drum beat.

I decided the best course of action was just to stand up and casually walk over to them, hoping everyone would just ignore the fact that I'd just thrown myself into a terrified heap because music was playing.

Luckily, I'm not sure they even noticed. Rocky looked up as I approached, waving and giving me a more relaxed smile than I'd seen on him in days. He leaned over to Rodrigo as I walked up. "Okay, try pushing that button there."

Rodrigo complied, and a piano loop started playing over the drum loop. "Hah!" Rodrigo yelped, looking totally delighted. "May I push the button next to it?"

Rocky scratched his head. "Hm. Sure, go for it."

Rodrigo pushed the button. A second drumbeat began playing under the first. It sounded kind of tinny and weird, but Rodrigo thrust his fist up into the air. "It is amazing!" he bellowed. "I am an entire congress of troubadours, all in myself!"

Rocky reached over and turned a knob; the pitch of the piano rose. "It goes up!" Rodrigo yelled. "Miraculous!" He wobbled the knob back and forth, sending the music's pitch all over the place.

He suddenly gasped and jerked his hands back from the equipment. "Friend Rocky," he whispered. "Could you play... the Devil's Interval?"

Rocky looked back at him blankly. "The hell is that?"

"It's a diminished fifth," I answered. They both looked back at me in surprise, and I felt myself cringe a little. "Um... I don't actually really know what that means, someone told me it once. I have a really good memory."

Rocky shrugged. He switched off the beat that was playing and reached over to the small keyboard, playing an eerie and odd-sounding chord.

Rodrigo frowned, disappointed. "I thought it would be more... malevolent."

Rocky smirked. "That sounds like a challenge! This can be our project, okay? Let's make a totally evil house song based on tritones." Rodrigo nodded back, intrigued.

I raised an eyebrow. "You two are in a pretty good mood," I observed.

"On the contrary," Rodrigo replied. "I am awash in grief and fear, and I believe Friend Rocky is the same."

"Total mess!" Rocky confirmed.

"But I refuse to respond with acrimony!" Rodrigo continued. "The mastermind here is just one of many individuals who have worked to break my faith and spirit. I simply refuse."

"Roddy helped me get my music stuff from my studio," Rocky explained. "If the rest of my life is dead bodies and trials, all I can do is go out doing what I love, right? When he explained it that way, it just made sense."

I found myself nodding. "I think... I'm kinda the same. Three people died yesterday, but I feel more determined than ever to survive this place, because all this death is just so stupid and pointless. These people could have been our friends, and..." I chuckled dryly. "God. Ashley was supposed to be _president_ someday. I don't know how much I can owe people I knew for a week and a half, but I'd just feel really dumb if I got murdered, at this point."

"Well said." Rodrigo's encouraging expression was strained; he somehow looked really young and really mature at the same time. "I am slowly coming to the conclusion that being insolent in the face of cruelty is the final lesson a paladin must learn."

Rocky shrugged. "I'm just trying to not flip out again." He squinted at me. "Hey... you're smart. Why do you think Earl did it?"

"We're not even sure he did," I pointed out. "We never had a vote about him."

"Yeah, I guess so." Rocky shook his head. "Part of what's been driving me nuts is trying to figure out why someone would murder. I knew a guy that got murdered, and that was just getting stabbed in a fight. Just not even thinking, just pow, dead. And I get that, I get killing someone 'cause you don't know what you're doing. But these murders here? Nicole and Juliet and Therion had all these big ideas, like it was all for some abstract vision, and I don't get any of that shit, that makes my head hurt."

"I believe, Friend Rocky, you are lucky to not understand such things," Rodrigo said.

"You know what I read somewhere?" I ventured. "Most psychopaths actually have pretty low IQs. We have this idea of the brilliant evil murderer, but it barely exists. The people who actually work to plan out a murder carefully are doing it for money."

Rodrigo nodded. "Jealousy and greed, the basest of motivations. Godparents of murder, since Cain slew Abel."

"Yo, but Therion and Nicole weren't after money!" Rocky said.

"I was thinking about something recently," I said, which was a lie, but I was thinking about it now, and my mind was racing. "One of the ways they turn people into terrorists is, they tell them over and over that they're important. You take powerless people and tell them they're important, and they'll, uh... turn bad, I guess. So maybe the most dangerous place to be is trapped with a bunch of kids who've all been told over and over... well, that they're the best at something."

We looked at one another uncomfortably.

 **DORM: NICOLE'S ROOM**

I felt a lot of weird emotions as I found my way into Nicole's unlocked room. Besides the fact that I had never been in a situation to have to fulfil someone's last request before, this was a person I kind of had wanted to be friends with, and who had just indirectly tried to kill me because she thought it'd be good for the world if I died.

The turtleneck was in a side room on an ironing board sitting among piles of yarn and thread. It looked awesome, of course. I held it up under my chin in front of a mirror; it accented my paleness, but not in a way that made me look like I was wearing clown paint; I looked moody and intense and bohemian. It was a little tight for my usual comfort-level… but maybe I was ready for that?

 _Goddamn it, Saya, you're fucking good at chess, that doesn't mean everyone has to fucking pay attention to you all the time._

I lowered the sweater and glowered a little at my reflection. I turned to go, but in so doing I noticed a piece of white paper on the ironing board under where Nicole had left the sweater. It had my name written at the top of it in beautiful script.

Looking closer, I noticed it was mostly just a list of six or seven names and addresses. All the addresses were in Detroit, Michigan, and three of the names ended in 'Archina.' "DON'T FORGET THEM" was scrawled at the top.

Her family. Her people. The ones she was always so protective of. If she'd just kept her head down, she might have been able to make it. And Earl would be alive… or at least if he wasn't, we'd have closure for Ashley. Just…

I sighed. I couldn't get bogged down in what-ifs. Morosely, I folded the paper and slipped it into my back pocket, then I draped the sweater over one of my arms. Maybe I'd wear it later if I had the guts.

 **DORM: UPSTAIRS HALLWAY**

As I stepped out of Nicole's room, I saw Bepi walking cagily down the hallway. I froze, remembering him yelling at me the night before, but he just beckoned me over.

"Hey," he said as I approached. "Come look at something with me, wouldja?"

"What…?" I asked, but he was already walking away back down the hallway. He stopped at Earl's room and pulled it open. I followed him in, still pretty confused.

 **DORM: EARL'S ROOM**

"Hold on," I said, as we stepped into the immaculately clean room. "Why are you showing me? I kind of thought you wouldn't want to talk to me."

"Huh?" He paused, then shook his head. "Oh, because of last night. Saya, I'm not mad at you, I'm just worried." He went to the window and looked down. The scar in the ground made by Barrett and the Vandal that very first week was still stark and ugly down in the quad. "I told you I was good at keeping my buddies alive in the field, right?"

"Uh. Yeah. You said something like that."

"Well, it's true. I was really good at it. But I wasn't perfect. And that's a shitty spot to be in, you know? I'm good enough that I don't have to just expect it'll happen... but it still happens sometimes. I never got numb."

"Isn't that good, though?" I pointed out. "I don't know what it's like out there, but keeping more people alive has to be better than fewer, right?"

He glared back at me, then sighed. "Maybe. Either way, I failed Ashley, and I got worried I was gonna fail you, too. I'm over it, now."

"Oh," I said. "That easy?"

"Uh, yeah. Juliet showed up in my room at three a.m. last night. Kinda put things in perspective."

I blinked at him. "Hold on, what happened?"

He rolled his eye. "Told me she was in love with me. Tried to get me to murder her."

"Holy shit, Bepi, how'd she even get in your room?"

"That is a very good question." He shook his head gruffly. "Don't take it too seriously, I don't think she was trying particularly hard to convince me it wasn't bullshit. Just fucking with me to have the power."

"Of course," I grunted. "For an evil psychopath, she sure does just seem to try to get on people's nerves."

"Forget it," he said, waving his hand in the air dismissively. "She's being confusing on purpose to drive us nuts trying to figure her out." He turned and gestured to a small, nearby room. "Speaking of going nuts trying to figure something out, lemme show you this thing I found."

He walked into the room, continuing to talk over his shoulder as I followed him. "I still don't think Earl killed Ashley, so I came here to try to get some answers. And I found… this."

The room was filled with small pieces of machinery, mechanical blueprints, and tools. But Bepi led me over to the corner, where there was a small pile of paper. The top paper I recognized: it was the folded sheet that Therion gave me just before his execution. But underneath it were more official-looking documents, each one marked with the header New Hope University School of Ultimates: Killing Game Intervention

My mouth hung open as I flipped through the papers. Before I even read the words, I focused on the odd stains and spatters, colorful marks on almost every page. "Paint…" I said out loud. "Did… did these come from Morgan's room?"

"Must have," Bepi answered.

"I searched it after his murder, but I wasn't looking for this kind of thing," I said.

"I looked around the next day, but there wasn't anything like this," Bepi replied. "I guess Earl got to it first."

I scanned over the pages. They were all obtuse and technical and out-of-context, but I tried to piece together what information I could. "It's… a grant application? Like, they're asking for money to build this place." I blinked, then looked up in bewilderment. "Someone gave people money to do this to us?"

Bepi took the papers, flipped to one of them, and showed me. "Not just 'someone.'"

I looked. At the bottom of the page, in ugly, bold font, it read: Funding Institution: UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

"The… government?"

"The fucking army."

I found myself shaking my head, flipping through the pages looking for some kind of evidence this was all fake. "Nicole was right? No, that can't… Why would the government do this to us? This doesn't…"

But all I found was more of the same. There was a big block of text that wasn't too covered by paint, and I could make out terms like "social conformity" and "undesirable youth" and "refusal to respect authority."

"Kill off the bad ones," Bepi said. "And turn the good ones into people you control."

I sat back, looking blankly up at the ceiling. "When this was just an abstract possibility, I totally believed it. 'Oh yeah, the government would totally make up some death game to keep talented kids in line; that's completely plausible.' But looking at this right here in front of me… I just can't wrap my head around it."

"You know what the funniest part is?" Bepi took the papers and flipped to a particular one, showing me. It was the end of whatever document this was; it was a name and a date and a signature. "It's not even the government's idea. They're funding it, but some guy just came up with this. 'Eugene Alameda.' Some professor."

"So he's the mastermind?" I ventured. "But no one here is old enough to be a professor. And… look, this date was eleven years ago. He's been doing this over a decade. There's no way he's one of us." I frowned. "Monokuma must have lied."

"Just like a spoiled child!" a squeaky voice piped up behind us. I flung myself around to see Monokuma standing there in the doorway. Bepi stepped slightly in front of me, muscles tensed, but the ridiculous bear just pressed his paws against his mouth and tittered. "Young people always think they know best. Always trying to change the world, when they don't even have control over themselves! Always looking to blame society or the government instead of looking within!"

"Who's Eugene Alameda?" Bepi asked coldly.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Monokuma snapped. "You kids and your slang words! 'I'm going to go Netflix and chill with Eugene Alameda because my purple drank is so woke!' Speak English!"

"You lied to us," I said. "The mastermind was never one of us."

"I am a professional educator, and I would never lie to my students!" he growled, stomping his little feet. "Not about something you need to know for the final exam!"

I started to speak, then I paused. "Wait, what? Final exam?"

Monokuma's paws grabbed the sides of his head and he stiffened in horror. "What! No! What? I never said anything about a final exam! I said 'I would never lie to my students' and then I just was silent and you must have hallucinated me speaking because you're probably on drugs!"

I glanced up at Bepi. "Why would we need to know things about the mastermind for our… final exam?"

"Aa!" Monokuma bounced around the room. "No! I'm broken! See? Remember? Whoaaa I'm malfunctioning because my computers got blown up! I'm just talking nonsense!"

Suddenly, the speakers above us, crackled to life. Monokuma's voice began blaring: "Attention, surviving students! This is a pre-recorded announcement to inform you that a new section of campus will be accessible starting tomorrow morning. It is important for you to remember that information you find in the new area will be relevant for your final exam! Make sure to seek out information about the mysterious Dr. Alameda!"

The voice cut off, and Monokuma looked back at us blankly. "Hold on," he said, "how many murders have there been, again? I just opened up the frat house, right?"

"I think Monokuma is still malfunctioning," I remarked.

"I am not malfunctioning!" He shrieked, then bounced into the air and disappeared.

Bepi shook his head in contempt. "See, this is where Ashley would say we need to look for all this evidence to do well on the exam, because it'll be good for us. And it's where Nicole would say we need to not look for any of this evidence, because it's what the mastermind wants us to do." He started to leave. "They're dead, though. So."

And then he just left. I looked helplessly down at the pages of the grant application.

 **DORM: SAYA'S ROOM**

I spent the rest of the day by myself, trying to avoid running in to Lucina or Katy. I did go and find Rocky and Rodrigo ('RoRo,' as I'd been idiotically calling them in my head) to show them the pages from the grant application. I was worried that was a mistake, but then I thought of Earl sitting along in his room, the only one other than the mastermind who knew it. When they promised to tell everyone else they saw (except Juliet), I felt nothing but relief.

As I hunkered in my room, staring at the chess set playing out simulations in my head, I found myself dreading the coming night. I hadn't dreamt the night before… I just rejected Lucina, blinked, and woke up to Katy coming out of her room. But there was something so enervating about the idea of more Murderer's Theater, packed full of people but still not full yet. I staved off sleep until very early in the morning, but I finally conked out.

Almost immediately, the scene came up. JP, broken in the corner. Therion, staring straight forward at me. In the back, Earl led Nicole in some sort of tai chi exercise, but they simultaneously argued with one another, angrily and silently.

For the first time, I realized they were on some sort of movie set. There was a fake backdrop, like a big painting of a landscape and a horizon stretching out behind them; Monokuma sat nearby in a director's chair, waving his little paws around.

"What makes belief true?" Therion asked, his voice a reverberation in the vacuum. "Plain answer: belief that corresponds with reality, and based on observations. But insufficient."

He gestured over to Nicole, who just kept ignoring him and copying Earl's movements. Therion looked back to me, and when he spoke, his voice was Nicole's. "Like, okay. So, there's this farmer. Cow farmer. And this one cow is missing, right? And he's trying to find his cow. And he tells his wife this one cow is missing. And she goes, 'Oh, you know that cornfield next to the road? I saw her there.'

"The farmer's like, 'Nice!' And he goes over to the road and starts going down it, looking for the cow. And he sees this brown and white cloth draped across some of the corn stalks, right? And from the distance it looks just like the cow. And he realizes that's what his wife saw."

Therion stood in the least Nicole-ish way I could imagine, but the voice just kept coming. "But then he gets even closer! And he sees the cow behind the cloth! The cow was in the cornfield after all! So…"

Like a switch, he flipped over back to his own voice. "…was belief of farmer's wife true or not? Cow was in cornfield. Belief corresponded with true reality. Belief justified by observation. But observation not really of cow. Farmer's wife not lying. Not mistaken. But did she _know_?"

He wiped his mouth with his hand and when he spoke again, it was with Nicole's chipper voice. "You need to think about who you really are, kid. There's way too much you think you know."

I woke up slowly.

 **MAIN QUAD**

Even though I stayed up so late, it was still pretty early when I stumbled out of my room and downstairs. RoRo were out there fiddling with the music equipment, which was nice to see… but Lucina and Katy were there too, watching and chatting. I froze in place, but it was too late; they saw me. Both Katy and Rodrigo waved me over. Lucina just kind of looked.

"Uh, hi," I said, nodding to them all. "How's the song going?"

"We're just gonna be playing around with shit for a while," Rocky replied. "We decided it's going to be a dirge. Y'know, for the people who died?"

"A… house music dirge?" I asked, bemused.

"Hell yeah!" Rocky said. "That's the problem with funerals, not enough dancing! You can't remember someone if your brain's all going nuts, you gotta shut it off. Remember them with your body."

"That… makes a certain kind of sense, I guess," I replied. "Um… is everyone going to go to the new area Monokuma opened up?" I gestured to the south gate, now accessible and open.

"Hell no," Rocky said, and that was that.

"I think we might," Katy spoke up. "I'm still not sure if it's a good idea, but I still have to believe there's a way to escape." She glanced up at Lucina, then blushingly looked away. "Now, especially."

Lucina waved her hands around, causing Katy to nod with determination. "Yeah, I think so, too."

"Wait." I glanced back and forth between them. "Was that… sign language?"

Lucina nodded, expression unreadable. She held up a note: _But Katy's the only one who understands it, so I usually talk this way._

"Where'd you learn sign language?" I asked Katy, trying to keep from sounding completely offended.

She blushed slightly. "Oh, I know lots of languages! I would never let a silly thing like that keep me from a beautiful girl, after all…" Lucina blushed too, and I tried to keep my eyes from rolling like they wanted to, partly to be polite and partly because I was legit worried I would sprain something.

"Well. I was going to go to the new area, but I wanted to eat first."

"Oh, perfect!" Katy chirped. "We were just about to go get some breakfast, too!"

Lucina and I both froze. "Uh, Rodrigo? Rocky? You hungry?"

"Nah, go ahead," Rocky said, completely oblivious to any tension.

Left with no other choice, we stiffly followed Katy into the student union, trying not to get too close to one another.

 **STUDENT UNION: CAFETERIA**

I froze when I got to the cafeteria entrance. The entire room had been completely ransacked. Wreckage of tables and chairs were strewn all over, and there was a crater in the middle of the floor filled with the ashes of something that had burned. The food sat as normal on the ledges by the kitchen, looking very odd next to the rest of the room.

Only one chair and small table were upright. Jane sat there, daintily eating some sausage and eggs.

"Oh my god!" Katy exclaimed. "What happened?!" Jane just kept chewing, so Katy ran up to her. "Are you okay? What happened here?!"

"I'm sure I don't know," Jane replied sourly, "and please stop shouting." She gestured around with a complete lack of interest. "Most of the people living here are such monkeys, I barely even notice when things are in disarray, anymore."

"This isn't disarray," Katy argued. "It's… destruction. What could have happened?"

I rubbed my chin in thought. "'Destruction.' Do you think Barrett did this? He demolishes things."

 _I haven't seen him since the trial_ , Lucina wrote.

"Me neither," Katy said. "But… why would he do this?"

"Because he's a lunatic," Jane remarked. "And please, eat your breakfast or leave. It's bad enough sitting here in this pigsty, much less hearing you call my attention to it."

Deciding not to pick a fight, we just gathered up what we could of usable chairs and fixed ourselves some breakfast. The meal wasn't too bad, actually. Katy's good mood kept the conversation moving, and Lucina and I didn't have to directly interact much.

When we got up to leave, though, the awkwardness increased. But as we started heading for the exit, Jane's voice called after us. "Oh. Saya. Be a dear and speak with me for a moment, will you? Your hair looks dreadful, and I'm afraid I can't stand it any longer."

We all paused, looking at her. "Uh, what?"

"We must have a productive conversation about your hairstyle." She stood and waved her hand at Lucina and Katy. "Shoo."

Lucina glared, but I said, "Uh, it's okay, I'll catch up with you." After a brief hesitation, they nodded and left. Jane watched them go, then nodded smartly and returned to her second helping of scrambled eggs.

I looked at her with bewilderment. "Um. My hair?"

"Hm?" She actually looked surprised. "Oh! Oh, that was a lie, darling. Well. It was a lie that I wanted to talk to you about it. This was just so you could have a break from those two."

"What? Why would I, uh…"

"Oh, please don't insult my intelligence." She pointed at me with a greasy fork. "And be grateful my sympathy actually outstrips my contempt for the esoteric mundanities of social relationships. I'm a bit surprised by that, myself."

"Thank you," I said automatically, realizing in retrospect that I meant it. "But… why did you insult my hair…?"

She shrugged. "I had to work with what was available, didn't I?" She daintily wiped her mouth with a napkin and stood. "Now. Accompany me to the new area. I had hoped to search it before the middle of the day."

"Um. Sure." But without even waiting for my answer, she had already started walking to the exit. Still addled, I followed.

 **SOUTH QUAD**

The new area was huge, and I could make out no large buildings anywhere; just those stark, huge concrete walls that surrounded everything. But there were large, cube-shaped things all over, like trailers or storage spaces. Each was painted a different color. "Curious," Jane said, approaching the nearest one. One side was open, and we ventured in hesitantly.

 **SOUTH QUAD: PURPLE AND WHITE MODULE**

We found ourselves in a small room with a small television screen on the wall. A nondescript man faced the camera, droningly repeating the same few syllables. "Dah. Fah. Pah. Bah." There was a door at the other end of the room.

I scratched my head in confusion as Jane went to the door and tried in vain to open it. "Are… we supposed to do something in here?" I asked.

"The enticingly locked door suggests yes," Jane replied, "but perhaps not." She huffed. "It is indeed frustrating… SHUT UP!" This was directed to the man on the television, who did not shut up. Jane grunted. "It is indeed frustrating to not be able to access a potential treasure trove of information."

"Hm." I put my hands on my hips. "Maybe it's a good thing. I am a little worried about this 'final exam' thing. Anything we find could be leading us right into a trap."

"Knowing information is always better than not knowing it, and you will not shake my belief in that." Jane poked a finger at the screen, but nothing happened. "Saya, I am going to repeat these ludicrous noises out loud in hopes it will make the door open, and my pride requires you not be present for that. Please explore a different area, and we will reconvene later."

I thought about arguing, but on second thought I realized that was actually a pretty self-revealing thing she had said. "Okay. I'll show you whatever I find."

She didn't respond. I just left.

 **SOUTH QUAD: THE CRICKET**

I approached the largest of the modules, a green box with one open side, a curtain draped over it. A velvet rope was in front of the curtain, and a large sign declared, COMING SOON: THE CRICKET! DO NOT ENTER BEFORE OFFICIAL DEBUT! VIOLATORS WILL BE SHOT FOUR TIMES!

I was already near the sign and finished reading it before I noticed the silent figure standing to my right. It was silent because it was Lucina. She was just kind of hunched over, staring at me unreadably.

"Hi," I said, and then I ran out of things to say. There was a very long pause. Finally, I mustered up, "Where's Katy?"

She pointed over her shoulder vaguely. But in the movements I could tell she was at least as uncomfortable as I was.

I sighed. "Okay. Look, can we talk?"

She held up a message that I think she just had pre-written and ready to go, _Nope_.

"Engrh…" I waved my hands around uselessly. "Look… if this was just college, I'd agree with you. I'd be moving out of state and changing my name to avoid running into you. But we're in a death game, and I don't think we can afford to lose allies."

She looked very skeptical.

"I really like you," I said. Although it was the worst-kept secret ever, it was still very strange to say it out loud. "When you… uh. The other night, I freaked out and probably hurt your feelings. I'm sorry."

She was still clenched up defensively. _I wanted to be with you that night, but I can't deny that I have feelings for Katy too. And at this school, I can't just wait for someone to be ready. Not when I might die at any moment._

I took that in and slowly nodded. "I'm jealous of Katy. I can't change that, not right away. But I promise you can trust me to be on your side. Both of you."

She didn't move for a moment, then she nodded gently. I felt myself relaxing. She wrote out a new note, _You're dodging a bullet, really. I'm pretty fucked up._

"Apparently, I'm into that," I remarked. Feeling oddly brave, I took a step closer. "This might be really inappropriate, but can I ask a question? How did you even…. I mean, with her fingernails? Those things are like knives."

She blushed and held up the _Nope._ message again, but her body language was finally relaxed, too.

"Well, look at these mature students!" a voice yelped from the module next to us. Monokuma stuck his head out from the bottom of the curtain and then grinningly crawled out towards us. "Or so it seems! In my experience, a mature student is just a student who's learned how to lie!" He tittered. "Well, we'll get to the bottom of that!"

I glared at him. "What are you talking about?"

He skipped over to a rope hanging at the side of the curtain and jumped up to try to grab it. It took him a few tries, since it was hanging over his head, but he finally succeeded and yanked the rope down. The curtain fell open.

There was an absolutely grotesque machine inside, just a weird and alien set of wires and jagged terminals. I could make out a series of chairs, arranged in a circle, but everything else just looked completely science-fiction.

"This is The Cricket!" Monokuma announced. "Oh, I'm so excited. You're the first class to experience it! One of our distinguished alumnae invented it, and it is going to be so great!"

"What… is it?"

"Well! You spoiled brats never learned true moral values! You don't have consciences. I can tell, because you keep murdering each other! So this amazing device serves as an _external_ conscience. With The Cricket, any lie you tell will be as plain as the nose on your face."

"Wait." I was sure I hadn't heard him correctly. "With this machine… we can't lie?"

"You can," he clarified. "But everyone will know." He giggled and clapped his paws. "The first Cricket session will be tomorrow. You'll receive an official Monomail about it! Oh, I love when we open up the frathouse…"

As he continued chortling and babbling, Lucina and I looked at one another somehow with expressions of simultaneous hope and hopelessness.

* * *

 _FACT 1: Lucina and Katy are dating now, so there's that_

 _FACT 2: Bepi found a bunch of documents in Earl's room about this program. It's funded by the Department of Defense, and it was created by someone names Eugene Alameda. I told Rocky and Rodrigo about this, and they spread it to the others._

 _FACT 3: Monokuma's still broken, but he said something about needing to know secrets of the program to pass the 'final exam.'_

 _FACT 4: Someone completely smashed up the cafeteria._

 _FACT 5: The newly opened area is some kind of big pavilion full of huge storage crates. Monokuma suggested there was information about the program hidden around._

 _FACT 6: One of the crates contains a machine called The Cricket, which Monokuma says exposes any lie a person tells._


	31. Seminar on Aging and Adulthood, Part B

**SOUTH QUAD: PURPLE AND WHITE MODULE**

After Monokuma disappeared, Lucina and bid each other goodbye and went our separate ways again. I was optimistic about our future, but not in a way that meant I wanted to hang out with her one-on-one for a couple of days.

I returned to the pod I'd left before and was surprised to find Jane still there, looking frazzled but determined to keep her cool. She nodded to me tersely. "Did anyone get murdered?"

"Um, no. Not that I know of."

"Good." She squinted at the droning man on the television as if he was her lifelong nemesis. "Repeating the silly noises did not work."

I looked at the screen, and the man just kept on talking, "Pah. Bah. Gah. Mah."

"But, I had a breakthrough," Jane continued. She walked over to the screen and stood next to it, holding up a finger, as if to tell me to wait a moment.

"Fah. Bah. Gah."

She reached up and covered the man's mouth with her hand. And bizarrely, the man's speech changed. "Pah. Pah. Pah. Pah."

"Whoa, how did you do that?" I asked.

"I didn't do anything," she clarified. "The man only says one thing. But when we see him speak..."

She removed her hand, and the sounds changed as I watched his lips move. "Fah. Wah."

She smirked, looking proud of herself. "It seems seeing the mouth move interferes with our basic perception of the sound. We literally hear things differently based on what we see."

I chewed on that for a moment. "Okay. Well, have you tried saying it out loud?"

"Not yet." She giggled surprisingly childishly. "Say it with me darling, will you?"

I was skeptical, but together, we said, in time with the man, "Pah. Pah. Pah. Pah." And on the fourth one, we heard a click. I looked over, and the previously closed door was now hanging ajar.

"Hah!" Jane screeched at the man on the television, and then she gleefully stuck out her tongue and licked the screen. I heard a popping sound and the screen went black.

Jane strutted towards the now open door, but she stopped when she saw me not following. "Hm?" She looked at me blankly for a moment, then nodded. "Oh. My saliva interferes with telecommunications electronics."

"Of course it does," I said. Sighing, I followed her into the new room.

 **SOUTH QUAD: PURPLE AND WHITE MODULE BACK ROOM**

The room was empty except for a desk which had several pieces of paper strewn across it haphazardly. They looked like old newspaper cut-outs.

I picked up the nearest one, finding, to my dismay, that it was in Spanish. I was absolutely terrible at Spanish, which had been pretty embarrassing back in Miami. It wasn't from lack of effort; I just got too frustrated when things didn't make sense to me, like, immediately.

"I can speak all sorts of languages!" Katy had said, smiling with purely innocent benevolence.

Glowering, I did my best to stumble through the article to figure out why it was there. I didn't see anything in there that appeared to be about the university or Dr. Alameda. From what I could tell, it was just about some video game that had appeared on some open source server (thankfully they just used english words for "open source") and everyone was totally amazed at how elegante the code was. Because of some tech stuff, I didn't understand, people thought the creator was in Puerto Rico, but no one knew...

I froze. An amazing game from Puerto Rico? "This is about Therion, I think," I said.

Jane glanced up from the paper she was skimming. "This is an extremely manic interview our old friend Nicole gave at a fashion show in Italy."

I picked up another paper, which was torn out of some art magazine. Apparently someone had broken in to Alcatraz and turned it into some kind of creepy museum. "Oh, shit," I muttered. "Did you hear about that Alcatraz thing last year? Hanging Barbie heads all over the place and writing poetry on the walls and stuff, and it was a big mystery? I think Morgan might have done that. Or... the Vandal, I guess."

Jane rolled her eyes. "Well, this is utterly useless. Unless I need to know trivia about what clubs I could have seen DJ Rocky K playing at..." she looked over the newspaper page, "...nine months ago, I must admit I'm disappointed."

"Hmm." I looked over one of the last pages. "Well, not all of these are about us. Like this one." I indicated the headline, which said Local Teenager Accepted to All Eight Ivy League Colleges. It showed a picture of some normal-looking guy smiling proudly, and it seemed like a pretty heartwarming story... he'd been an average student until his mother suddenly died and he got really motivated to honor her... I couldn't tell what any of this had to do with us.

"Oh dear me," Jane said, suddenly standing behind me and reading over my shoulder. I jumped a bit in surprise but she just kept talking. "Look closer at the picture, darling."

I did, and I couldn't find anything noteworthy at first. But then I saw her. Standing behind the boy and his father, among a crowd of appreciative spectators, a completely expressionless look on her face... was Juliet.

I set the article down on the table very quickly.

"Okay," I said. "Yeah. I see the connection, now. But what about this one?" I held up the last paper there was to examine, an obituary about a young boy in Calgary who'd died after surgery. "None of us are Canadian. And..."

Jane suddenly grabbed the article out of my hands, tearing it, and sent the remnants streaming to the floor.

"Wagh!" I yelped, jumping away. "Jane, what the hell?!"

"Don't talk about things you don't understand," she growled. "This is... this has scientific value that would be completely lost on a simpleton like you. Just die in ignorance, you..."

She raised her arm and I flinched, but she didn't follow through. She just trailed off, dropping her arm to her side. "I... apologize," she said briskly. "That was quite undignified of me."

I remembered that the kid's last name had been Edwards, and... although I couldn't quite actually remember what Jane's name was, I think it was something like that. "Was that your brother?" I asked.

She huffed slightly, reminding me of all the world like some sort of offended bird. "I might as well tell you, since you're clearly going to be murdered next," she said, giving me a contemptuous glare I didn't for one second believe. "Yes. That was my brother. Richard."

She looked very different than I'd ever seen her before, and her sadness was almost overwhelming for a moment. "I'm sorry."

"Don't." She pointed, giving me a hard glare. "'Sorry' is only supposed to be for people who are helpless, and I was not. I had all the tools of science at my disposal, and..." She held up a gloved hand; I remembered that it was bright green underneath. "I didn't go far enough."

"Is this... why you started doing your research?" I ventured. "To try to save him?"

"I didn't try!" she suddenly bellowed, rearing up to somehow several inches taller than before. "That's what I'm saying! I stopped myself, because of stupid, short-term..." She snorted, glowering down at the floor. "I was cowardly and foolish. I convinced myself my body couldn't handle it, like the pathetic liar I am. I..." She sniffled, and a reddish-brown streak dripped down her cheek.

I couldn't stop myself from grimacing. "What is that?!"

She brought a hand up to her face and then looked at the fingertips of her gloves. "Ugh," she muttered. "Don't freak out, it's just iodine. Another one of my stupid failed tests. As if I deserved for one second to be feeling sorry for myself like this."

"Jane..." I took a step forward; she suddenly seemed the least intimidating person I'd ever met. "Listen. I can't imagine what it's like to lose your brother, but you were experimenting on yourself to the point that your tears turned to iodine. It seems like you were doing all you could."

"If I was doing all I could, I would have succeeded." She sniffled again; it sounded like a determined attempt to stop crying. "Not give up just because one of my fingers turned into five fingers."

"I... what?" I have to admit, that caught me off guard. "One of your fingers... is five fingers? What does that mean?"

Jane peeled off her right glove and held up her hand. It took me a second to really register it, but... although it was not larger than normal, her right index finger was indeed made up of five smaller little tentacle-things. It was the strangest thing I'd ever seen.

"It... hurt," she said, scorn just dripping from her voice. "That's how pathetic I am. Because of pain I felt in one little finger... I stopped. And then he died."

"Your finger turned in to five fingers!" I yelled. "Of course that made you stop! You could have killed yourself, experimenting like that!" I paused. "I really don't want to be judgmental but looking at that is really blowing my mind, could you please put your glove back on?"

She pulled her glove back on, regaining some degree of her usual poise. "I'm used to those without the proper scientific orientation getting too emotional about such things. I shouldn't be surprised."

I softened slightly. "Is this why you were so protective of Emily? She reminded you of your brother?"

She didn't look at me. "No. Richard wasn't a scientist at all; he was creative and fanciful." She sighed. "I was protective of Emily just because she was a delightful person."

I froze then nodded. "Yeah. She was."

There was a moment where we just looked at each other, and then she raised her chin haughtily. "Well. I have completely embarrassed myself, it seems. I'm quite grateful you'll be dying next."

"If you're from Calgary, why do you have a British accent?" I asked.

She coughed. "I was educated in England. There was nowhere else to properly teach me genetics."

"Uh huh. That article was only a couple of years old. Was that really long enough to get a new accent?"

She regarded me with pure hate. "Perhaps I should not so lightly remark about your impending murder," she said, finally.

"I'd appreciate that," I replied, then tilted my head slightly. "Jane... I think this is the kind of thing the mastermind wants to take advantage of. I think you're safer having talked about it."

"Well, when I want a naive little girl's opinion, I'll ask for it," she snapped, but there wasn't any bite to it anymore. It actually sounded a little warm.

 **SOUTH QUAD: WHITE AND GREY MODULE**

Jane decided to go back to her room, but I was up for some more exploration. I wandered a bit and heard some activity from one of the pods.

I stepped inside and found Rocky and Rodrigo bent over a table with a stack of papers on it. Barrett stood off to the side, not really doing much of anything.

Rocky turned and waved. "Yo!" Rodrigo waved too. Barrett just stared.

"Uh... hi," I said hesitantly. "You... okay there, Barrett?"

He looked up at me. "Okay there."

"Ah," Rodrigo said. "Friend Barrett is... not himself today, it seems?"

Barrett nodded in agreement. "Himself today."

I regarded him for a moment, scratching my head. "Well. I guess that's understandable, after everything that's happened."

"Indeed!" Rodrigo said with odd enthusiasm. "I've always felt Friend Barrett has a good heart that was covered by his tendency for... aggression. I despise the trauma and pain I've been unable to protect him from, but perhaps every crisis also contains an opportunity."

I glanced at Rocky, who just shrugged. "We found him just wandering around. Gotta try to do something with him, right? You break, you gotta be rebuilt."

Frowning, I stepped closer to Barrett. I waved my hand in front of his face, and his eyes didn't move... but he did blink. "Hey, anyone there?"

He stared for a moment, then he creakingly smiled and gave me a thumbs up.

"Um." I stepped back, raising an eyebrow. "For real, are you okay?"

He blinked, then slowly turned his head to look at me. When he spoke, it was alien-sounding, like it was a great effort to even use his mouth to form words. "Nicole died."

I was taken aback for a second, but then I recovered and nodded sadly. "Yeah. I know."

"Afraid... she was right." His lips were really chapped and dry. "I'm..." His mouth fell open, then he suddenly coughed. "I might be empty? No... beliefs. Nothing but... fire. Need help."

Rodrigo nodded smartly. "Indeed! And we will help him!"

"Uh, Roddy's going to help him," Rocky clarified. "I don't know shit about beliefs and the right way to live and all that stuff."

Rodrigo clapped Rocky on the back, looking massive next to the willowy musician. "Friend Rocky, you know more than you think! Far more than I. Your virtuous heart will help friend Barrett more than anything else, I know it!"

Noticing Rocky's blush and frankly not wanting to see anyone flirting with anyone at the moment, I stepped in. "Well, okay. I really am sorry about Nicole, Barrett, but I'm glad you're trying to honor her."

He just gave me another thumbs up.

I walked over to the table, looking at the stacks of paper. "So, I think a lot of these trailers have important information about the university behind these doors, and there's... like, tests or puzzles we have to solve in each one to get access."

"Yeah," Rocky agreed. "We just saw one where you had to, like, identify a bunch of different toe bones? Or something?"

"I was never allowed to study anatomy at the monastery," Rodrigo glowered. "The monks said it led to dreams of lust."

"Hm," I said, "I don't know much either, but just because I didn't take AP Bio."

I looked closer at the stack of paper on the table. Unlike the previous pod, this one had much clearer instructions. The top was labeled **VERY IMPORTANT INFORMATION.** Just below it, it read, **Insert scantron sheet into provided slot. The door will only open for someone with the right personality!**

I glanced over to the door. There was indeed a slot and a blank TV screen on the wall next to it. "Uh, important informaton?" I said.

"Yeah, not likin' the sound of that," Rocky replied. "Hey, give it a try, will you? Me and Roddy already did, but I guess we don't have 'the right personalities.'"

I raised an eyebrow, but just looked back down at the papers. It was a series of questions, each one with a series of bubble-in answers. "This... measures my personality?" I asked skeptically. I read the first question out loud: "'How much do you agree with the following statement: I dislike disgusting things." I blinked and looked around in bewilderment. "...doesn't everyone dislike disgusting things, like, by definition?"

"Not the same amount, I guess?" Rocky said. "All the questions are weird like that."

I picked up one of the pens on the table and began filling in bubbles. Midway through, it occurred to me that I could potentially be supplying the mastermind with important information, but they seemed to already know everything about my life already, so it probably didn't matter. I did my best to just be honest.

When I was done, I took my sheet and slid it into the slot. After a moment, the screen lit up, displaying, with red letters, **INCORRECT PERSONALITY**

I frowned. "That... kind of hurts my feelings, actually."

"Twas the same with us," Rodrigo bemoaned. Frustrated, I took another sheet and quickly filled in 1 for all the questions. I slipped that into the slot and waited.

The screen lit up. **ALERT. FAMILIAR FINGERPRINT DETECTED! DATA INVALID.**

"You only get one shot?!" Rocky wailed. "Damn it. I wonder who has the 'correct personality.'"

I crossed my arms and hunched over, feeling kind of pouty. I jumped when I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned, and behind me was Barrett. He gave me a thumbs up.

 **DORM: SAYA'S ROOM**

Murderer's Theater was different that night. The whole group, Monokuma included, sat in a circle among a messy pile of laundry, blankets, and pillows. JP took a hit from a bong. Nicole laughed.

"Truth..." Therion was saying. "No. Fact is real. Opinion is not real. Easy distinction!"

"Aha!" Earl countered, leaning casually back against a futon. "It's clearly not as simple as that! How can you say an opinion... say... my own hatred of murderers... is not 'real?' It influences me! In a brain scanner, you could observe it directly! Sounds real to me!"

"No, no," Therion said, waving his hands. "No. Existence of opinion is fact. Fact itself is not. Existence of thing and thing are not same thing." He paused. "Imagine giraffes. Giraffe exists. Not the same thing as giraffe itself!"

Nicole laughed.

"Whoa," JP said. "Like... what even is real? What if everything is just an opinion? Are giraffes an opinion?"

"Listen." Therion smacked a fist into his palm. "Here's difference: facts possible to prove wrong. Opinions not."

"But anything can be proven wrong," Earl argued. "You simply must use the appropriate words! I believe killing to be evil, except in the most extreme of circumstances. It fits into my definition of 'evil!' I can easily prove it correct, using that definition! I simply am unable to prove my definition of 'evil' is the right one! So, are opinions simply definitions of words?"

"Whoa," JP mused. "Everything's, like, words."

Therion held up a finger to reply, then he paused. He muttered something in Spanish and then flopped over onto his back. Nicole laughed.

"Words are irritating," Therion grumbled. "Necessary evil. Must always pay attention to words people use and meanings people intend." He held out his hand to JP. JP passed over the bong. Nicole laughed.

 **DORM: MAIN ENTRANCE**

Everything just felt heavy and sluggish as I made my way downstairs. I wasn't feeling a constant pang of being in danger, which actually made me worry I was in danger.

As I walked across the hall towards the exit to the quad, I heard a thump. I turned to see Giuseppi sticking his head out of the door to the computer lab. "Oh," he said. "Good. Hey. Come in here."

I raised an eyebrow. "What's up?"

"Lemme just show you."

 **DORM: COMPUTER LAB**

I literally jumped in shock as I stepped into the room. The computer lab was completely destroyed: terminals and monitors and keyboards and desks had been smashed and strewn all around. "Oh shit," I muttered. "Like the cafeteria."

"Yeah," Bepi agreed grimly. "Exactly like the cafeteria."

I poked at the wreckage a bit, but there really didn't seem to be anything important there. The room had just been taken apart for no apparent reason. "Who would do this?"

"I don't know, but only one of us is a professional demolitionist," Bepi replied.

"Huh," I said, frowning. "I mean... yeah, I wouldn't put it past Barrett to just smash stuff up for no reason, but have you seen him since the trial? He's kind of... weird."

"Weird?"

"Yeah. Spacey. Like he's not all there. It's kinda super creepy, actually."

Bepi just shrugged. "Whatever. He's fucking with us. Or Juliet's fucking with us. Or the bear's fucking with us."

"Maybe someone was looking for one of those Monokuma tunnels, you know?" I ventured. "Like we found in the ROTC."

"Maybe." He sighed. "Shit. I was hoping for a few days off, at least. This is exhausting."

I glanced at him curiously. "A few days off from what?"

"From murder shit, obviously." He fixed his one eye on me seriously. "Look, you have to assume that's why this is happening, right?"

I started to reply, then thought a moment. "I... don't think I agree." I blinked, surprised at my own forthrightness.

Bepi put his hands on his hips, looking irritated, but he just said, "Why not?"

"Juliet had a motive, even if it was insane," I explained. "Protecting the men. And all the tension recently from those fairy tales... I mean, most of the people driving that conflict are... well... dead. Right now, there's not a lot of motive."

"There's a whole quad full of potential motives," Bepi pointed out. "We don't know what's in all those boxes out there. And one of us might still be the mastermind, if that Alameda thing isn't true, remember."

"I still don't think there's enough reason to kill."

"Okay, well how about this." Bepi's one eye was hard and steely. "Someone commits murder because they can't stand how the girl they like is fucking someone else."

I emitted a choking noise, halfway between angry and shocked. "How can you say that? I wouldn't do that!"

He kept my gaze for a moment and then looked away. "Or, maybe a murder gets committed because someone figures out that if you kill Katy, Saya will take all the heat."

I didn't have a response to that one. "Does literally everyone know?" I asked after a moment.

He shrugged. "Rodrigo might not. Oh, and Katy has no clue, of course."

There was a brief silence, then he sighed. "Look," he said, "I don't, like, take joy in being the doomsayer. But we're in a world of shit, and that means we're made of shit too, and if we want to survive, we gotta accept it."

I tried to think of something to say back, but before I got the chance, some beeping went off from out pockets. We both took our tablets out and looked at our new email.

"'Meet at the Cricket in fifteen minutes,'" Bepi read. He looked up at me. "You know what the Cricket is?"

"Uh, yeah. It's in the new quad. I'll show you."

He sighed. "I'd ask what it was, but I know already. Just another way to get us to kill each other."

I frowned but didn't reply. Slowly, we made our way to the south quad.

 **SOUTH QUAD: THE CRICKET**

The garish, huge machine was now lit up inside its module, and it looked pretty terrifying, now that I had a better look. It had a bunch of arcane machinery at the top, and below was a circle of seats.

Rodrigo, Rocky, and Barrett were already there when we arrived. I waved, but I paused when I saw that Barrett had a towel around his neck, and the top of his head was coated in some kind of white paste.

"Uh," I said, "you okay, there?" He gave me a thumbs up.

"Oh, we're changing his look," Rocky said, grinning. "Dude needs highlights!" He yanked gently on his own scraggly, blonde hair. "I'm natural now, but when I wanted to make a big change, I dyed my hair. Symbolic, you know?"

"I guess that makes sense," Bepi said.

Jane walked up next, scowling. "Goddamn thing tells me my personality is incorrect. My personality is entirely correct, thank you very much..."

"Aha," Rodrigo said. "Friend Jane, have you been attempting to access the Very Important Information?"

"I don't want to talk about it," Jane grunted, but I think less snappishly than she would have a week ago. "Social science is maddeningly imprecise."

Katy and Lucina came next, holding hands. They... really were just always together now. Still, I managed to wave and smile. Katy looked deliriously happy. Lucina looked... quietly happy.

Luckily Juliet came up right after them, and I paused for a moment wondering at a mental state where Juliet's presence could possibly be considered "lucky." She stood nearest to me, but she didn't make eye contact with anyone.

"My dear students!" Monokuma's voice suddenly bellowed from above us. "You are all in for a real treat today!"

We looked up; he was standing in the middle of the Cricket machine, rubbing his paws together in glee. "Come in! Have a seat! I'll shoot you in the face if you don't!"

Very skeptically, I walked to the machine and examined it. It seemed obvious I was supposed to sit in one of these seats, so I settled myself in one. It was surprisingly comfortable. Each seat was set in some kind of open boxlike thing, so I could see the top halves of everyone else's torso sticking up. Everyone looked pretty confused.

"Good, good!" Monokuma cheered. "Now, please strap on the provided headpiece, and we will get started!"

I looked around my immediate area and saw something I hadn't noticed before. There was a helmet-looking thing sitting right by me, connected to the machine with a legion of wires, circuits and computer chips exposed and covering everything.

"Uh, is this safe?" Bepi asked. "This thing doesn't really look... finished."

"I think that it's almost certainly safe, given the definition of 'safe' created by university lawyers!" Monokuma bellowed. "Anyway, it's definitely safer than a shotgun shell to the face, so man up and put it on!"

Frowning, I placed the headpiece on and applied the chin-strap. I glanced around at everyone, then raised an eyebrow at Monokuma. "Is the whole point of this to just make us all look stupid?"

"Oh, you'll look stupider before the day is out!" he replied. He reached out and pulled a lever next to him, then he pushed a button below him. I felt a buzzing in my head, and soft, blue lights winked on, covering our headpieces and seats.

"All right!" Monokuma said. "That's it!"

We all looked around. "...That's it?" Katy asked.

"Yep! You'll stay here for the next ten minutes."

"Uh, what are we supposed to do?" Rocky asked.

"Converse! You know, like people used to know how to do before they were just staring at screens all day!"

"Oh, this is the stupidest thing I've ever seen," Jane snapped. Suddenly, all the blue lights on her head and seat turned red. After a moment, they flashed back to blue.

"My goodness!" Rodrigo exclaimed. "What happened?"

I shared a concerned look with Lucina. "Monokuma told me something yesterday," I spoke up. "He said this machine had something to do with lies."

"So, what, Jane just told a lie right now?" Rocky asked. He rubbed his chin in thought. "I mean. I guess it makes sense this wouldn't really be the stupidest thing Jane has seen ever in her life."

"Ugh." Jane rolled her eyes. "Just what we need, pedantic technology." Her lights turned red. "Gah! Sarcasm, really?"

"So... this thing will just let everyone know when we say something that isn't literally true?" Rocky ventured. "Hm, lemme try: 'I was born in Kathmandu.'" Red light. "Ha! Awesome."

"I am not the mastermind," Juliet said suddenly. We all whipped our heads to look at her, and her lights stayed blue. She tilted her head at me. "Your turn."

I frowned but complied. "I'm not the mastermind." No red.

Bepi went next, "I'm not the mastermind."

And then Jane: "I'm not the mastermind."

Rocky: "I'm not the mastermind."

And Rodrigo, "I am not the mastermind."

And Katy: "I'm not the mastermind."

Blue lights.

We all looked at Barrett, who looked back at us blankly. "Dude, say 'I'm not the mastermind,'" Rocky instructed.

"I'm not the mastermind!" Blue light.

Juliet had the most awful smile I've ever seen on her face. "Well, look at what process of elimination tells us," she sang, leering at Lucina.

"She's not the mastermind!" Katy yelled. "Whoever the real mastermind is wouldn't let this thing work on them."

Lucina held up a note, _I am not the mastermind._

"Hah!" Katy whipped her head to Juliet. "See?"

"I didn't hear her say anything," Juliet replied.

"Wait," Rodrigo interrupted. "I do not understand this machine, of course, but let us use our reason. Friend Lucina, would you please write down a lie and present it to everyone?"

Hesitantly, Lucina nodded. She glanced down, her sharpie whirring over her note card, and before she was even done writing, her lights turned red. She held up her message, _I am afraid of Juliet._

Katy grinned. "Well, there you go. It works on Lucina, even if she doesn't talk. She's not the mastermind."

"I'm still not convinced anyone's in the clear," Jane said. "There's probably stupid word games you can play. Let's try to figure out the actual rules of this machine. She glanced at Rocky. "DJ, will you do me a favor, darling? Please say, out loud, that the capital of Ghana is Monrovia."

"Uh, ok. The capital of Ghana is Monrovia." His lights stayed blue.

"Ah." Jane nodded smartly. "The capital of Ghana is Monrovia." Red light.

"Uh... what happened?" Rocky asked.

"I demonstrated an important feature of this apparatus," she explained. "It doesn't just turn red when we say something that isn't factually true. It turns red when we say something that we _know_ isn't factually true. Rocky K didn't know the capital of Ghana, because of course he didn't, and so it wasn't a lie when he got it wrong."

"What about things that are misleading, but technically true?" I said. "Like, um, those stupid things, like, 'There are not fifty states in The United States.'" My light stayed blue.

"Wait, what?" Rocky asked.

I rolled my eyes. Like, some of them are 'commonwealths,' whatever that means."

Lucina held up a new message, _My name is Lucina._ She frowned. She scribbled a new note, _I was trying to doubt it, but it didn't work._

Bepi spoke up. "I don't know for sure that George Washington existed." Red light. He nodded. "Yeah. See, it's technically true that I don't know for sure, but I guess I just can't make myself really believe it."

"What about something we aren't certain of?" Rodrigo pointed out. "Such as… 'elevators are controlled with magnets.'" Blue light. "Ah. So, it appears to not count as a lie if we assert something we don't know is true or not." He paused for a moment, and then, "'I am certain elevators are controlled with magnets.'" Red light.

Jane rolled her eyes. "Well, this is all very fun…" Red light. "…But pardon me if I find it all rather pointless. If the mastermind is immune to this machine, what can we gain?"

"Why, gossip, of course!" Juliet enthused, all ditzy again. "Hands up: Who here has a crush on Saya? I dooooo!" Red light. No one else said anything, and nothing happened.

"Actually this is useful," Bepi mused. "Hey everyone, don't say anything after I ask this question. 'Who here is female?" As requested, no one replied, and all the lights stayed blue. "It seems omissions don't count as lies, either."

"Hey, Rocky," Juliet leered, "have you and the monk fucked yet?"

Rocky gaped at her. "What? I… shit!" He grabbed his head, wincing. "What the hell? Gahh no! No!" He relaxed.

"What just happened?" Jane asked.

"Fuck, I just got this burning feeling in my head!" Rocky yelped. "It hurt like a bitch."

"…yet?" Rodrigo murmured, which was thankfully ignored by everyone else.

"But Rocky, the pain stopped… when you said 'no,'" I observed. I felt a chill. "It stopped when you answered Juliet's question."

"This thing makes you answer questions people ask?!" Rocky yelled. "Shit! We…"

"Wait," Bepi interrupted. "Rocky, you just asked a question, and I didn't feel anything."

"Neither did I," I said. "Hmm." I caught his gaze for a moment and he gave me a nod. "Is your birth name 'Giuseppi Perfetto?'"

He was quiet for a moment, then he suddenly burst out, "Fuck! No!" He panted, putting his hand against the helmet on his head. "Goddamn it, that does hurt. So, it's directed questions."

There was a silence as we pondered the consequences of this, but before I expected, I heard Katy's voice. "Juliet, why did you hurt Emily?"

Juliet grinned back at her. "Why didn't you protect Emily?"

Katy glared, then blinked. "Wait, I don't feel anything."

Jane hmphed and turned to Juliet. "Did you hurt Emily because you really wanted to save JP?"

Juliet didn't move for a few seconds, her pupils dilating as I watched. Finally, she burst out, "Yes!" Red light. She doubled over, breathing hard.

Jane smirked. "Oh, I enjoy this. It's yes/no questions, darling."

Lucina held up a message so Juliet could see; I think she had it already written and ready to go. _Did you enjoy torturing her?_

"Yes," Juliet snarled. Red light. "I mean… I mean no." Red light. She growled. "It was being myself," she clarified. "It was… real. I didn't want to. That's why I did it in the studio, so no one could hear me screaming."

"No one could hear _you_ screaming?" Rocky asked.

"I wanted someone to hear me," she said. Red light. "I wanted to be stopped." Blue lights. "I tried to make it so clear. I tried to warn you."

"Have you ever loved any of your sweethearts at all?" I asked.

She looked at me blankly and a little helplessly for a moment. "No," she said. "That's why it hasn't worked. Being a monster is okay if it's all for love. Giving yourself to love is the greatest thing a woman can ever do. I… I just haven't figured out how yet."

"Ugh, ignore her," Jane snapped. "She's just crazy."

"I don't think I am," Juliet argued. "It's rational. I'm… I'm damned a thousand times, and I can't stop seeing their faces, and sometimes I get so horrified I can't even breathe. Emily…" she actually let out a choking sob. "…if I can only be cruel, then I have to make a way for cruelty to be good, and that's love." She paused, pressing her hand against her face. "I don't really care about any of this." Red light. "I'm only pretending to cry." No red lights.

Rodrigo looked down at her coldly. "Like Lucifer, you deserve sympathy, and you have mine. Also like Lucifer, your words are poison, and all you will receive from me is sympathy."

"You're all disgusting," Juliet snarled, still looking down at her lap. Red light. But then she suddenly whipper her head up, grinning. "Hey Saya, are you in love with Lucina?"

I heard Katy gasp and began to feel a sharp pain in my head, growing stronger with every passing second. I was shocked… but goddamn if I was going to give Juliet the satisfaction she wanted. "I don't know," I replied. Red light. The pain subsided.

Juliet giggled. "Oh, I forgot how clever you are, chessmistress." Red light. She swept her gaze around the circle. "You spend all this time ganging up on me, when I'm not the one you need to worry about murdering anyone. Silly."

There was an uncomfortable pause. Monokuma gigglingly broke the silence. "All right, that's ten minutes!" He flipped the switch next to him, and the machine powered down. "You may remove your helmets!"

I did my best not to look at Katy or Lucina as I unstrapped my headpiece. I wasn't really sure what I felt, but it wasn't good.

"Now remember," Monokuma said, "we'll be having more Cricket sessions every other day until there's another murder! I can't wait to hear what truths come out next time!"

"Oh, that's your stupid game," Bepi growled. "Make us do this over and over until we can't take it anymore."

"Truth is a habit all children must learn!" Monokuma said. "Take advantage of it! The Cricket will be retired after the next trial."

I froze. "Wait. After the next trial? Not the next murder?" I looked around. "So, if there is a murder, we'd be able to use this machine in the investigation?"

Monokuma giggled, but he didn't say anything.

 **SOUTH QUAD: PINK AND YELLOW MODULE**

I pretty much just wanted to bolt from the scene as soon as I got out of that awful machine, but Bepi took me aside, saying he wanted to show me something he'd found. I dumbly followed him, more from the inability to come up with an excuse than any actual curiosity.

He took me to a smallish pod some distance away from the Cricket. When we got there, he sighed and gave me a soft look. "Are you all right?"

I paused, surprised. "Huh?"

"After all that. You all right?"

"Oh. Uh." I realized I didn't know how to answer. "I guess… I am?"

He held my gaze for a moment, then nodded. "Okay. I didn't realize until a minute ago, but you're bearing a lot of the weight, here. You run the trials, you keep everyone from completely going nuts on each other, you're Juliet's biggest target. And, um." He looked away, oddly abashed. "When I get stressed out, I kind of take it out on you."

I felt my face heating up; I wondered if this was a side he ever showed any of the other soldiers. "When you put it that way, it feels like a lot of responsibility, and that's weird," I said. "I'm used to being the center of problems, but not having people rely on me."

"Well, I'm used to both, so let me take some of the load, all right?" He shook his head at me in something that looked like wonder. "You really do think of yourself as weak, don't you? After everything." He laughed softly. "The most dangerous people I ever met are bad-asses who think they're not. Because they're not careful. So for my own safety, I'll be reminding you repeatedly that you're actually a brilliant, awesome bad-ass."

"Ack." I covered my face with my hands. "Stop!"

"Really?"

I paused. "Kind of?" I peeked out between my fingers. "No, keep going."

"Saya, don't forget that you're brilliant and awesome."

I laughed. "Fine, fine. Thanks."

He nodded sharply in a very soldier-looking way. "All right. Now, the thing I wanted to show you." He pointed over to a sign next to a closed door. The sign said SECRET WEAPON INSIDE

"Oh," I said. "That doesn't sound good."

Then, Bepi pointed to a very frightening-looking machine in the corner. **PAIN MACHINE FOR SPOILED BRATS** read a sign in front of it.

"Oh, that sounds even worse."

I looked closer. There was some sort of blood-pressure-looking thing that obviously was supposed to go around the arm, a switch, and a dial. Next to the dial was a gauge that said PAIN METER. At the bottom was a smiley face. As it rose, the levels were **Yikes**!, **Oh** **no**!, **Agony** , **XXX** , and then finally **Door Opens**.

"I tried 'oh no' for a few seconds," Bepi said. "It… did not feel good."

"Do you think anyone here will be able to get to the top?"

"Honestly? No. But it's still something to worry about."

I heard a soft cough behind us and turned. Katy stood there, looking embarrassed and shy.

"Um. Hi," she said. "Sorry to interrupt, but… could I talk to Saya, please?"

Bepi looked at me. I looked blankly back at him, but then finally nodded. "Okay," he muttered. "I'll see you around." He strolled casually out the pod, giving me one last concerned look as he did.

Katy did not seem to want to make eye contact. She stepped closer, hands behind her back. "So… me and Lucina got through one of the secret doors, and we found some information. I don't think it's important, but I wanted to tell you." She held out a document to me.

I dumbly reached out and took it. Glancing it over, I saw that it was a photocopy of a newspaper editorial Eugene Alameda had apparently written at some point. He spent the whole time complaining about young people and insisting they were going to ruin the U.S., spending a rather strange amount of time bemoaning the fact that rock music, the 'only worthwhile genre of music,' wasn't as popular anymore.

"We already knew that, right?" Katy said. "The stuff you and Bepi found told us about him and what he believed… so I didn't think this was a big deal. But I still wanted to keep you in the loop."

I numbly scratched the back of my head. "Oh. Thanks."

"…Yeah." She took the paper back and tilted her head cutely. "Saya, you okay? You're acting kind of weird."

"I just… don't you want to talk about the thing that just happened? The question Juliet asked me?"

"Ohh." Katy smiled genuinely. "Oh, that's what you're worried about. No, I'm fine. You didn't want to fall into whatever game she was playing."

I read her face for any sign of deception and found nothing. "But… Lucina? You…"

"Saya." Her tone of voice kind of startled me; she was very serious and focused. Then she sighed and relaxed a little. "Look, I really respect people who can be pure and innocent. Mackenzie was like that, and I loved that about her. But… with Lucina, it isn't like that. It's a more grown-up kind of love." She smiled. "You and Lucina are mature, and I respect that, too. I know you'd tell me if there was something you thought it was important for me to know."

I couldn't do much but gape at her. This creepy little bitch was just dancing all carefree, smug and confident and certain and trusting, while I was suffering? She was the type who always had everything just handed to her. She told me she came out to her dad and he'd been proud. Fucking proud! And she went around like she deserved that, like she deserved Lucina, like…

As I took in that sweet, kind look on her face, I felt myself go cold. I took a step closer to her. I imagined myself making that smile go away, and I felt nothing.

She just shrugged, she hadn't even noticed. I could hear her choking, I could hear it echoing in my head and I had no emotions at all. "Maybe it's stupid to trust anyone here," she said blithely as I felt my muscles pulling my hands towards her throat. "But you're my friend. My first real friend! We're in this together."

I _felt_ again, like having scalding water poured on my face. I jumped back in horror at what I think I had just been about to do.

"Wha…" Katy reached forward in alarm. "Saya!"

I wrapped my arms around myself, pressing a palm against my face. "I'm fine!" I barked as I tried to slow my breathing and stop shivering. "I'm fine I'm fine."

She wrapped her arms around me, almost in tears because of my distress, because fucking of course she did. I let her hold me, the guilt and fear almost squeezing my neck like a noose.

"I'm just scared," I said. I pulled back and looked her in the face. "Please don't ever stop saying to me what you just said," I nearly pled. "Don't let me forget we're friends. Please."

She nodded, actually seriously starting to cry. She embraced me tightly, and I let her.

 **DORM: UPSTAIRS HALLWAY**

After I left the south quad, I exercised and ate a meal and it felt like the rest of the day went by in an instant. I was in a kind of daze, and I decided the only thing to do was to head upstairs to the dorm rooms. On my way up, I looked into the Zen Garden and I think I saw Lucina and Katy in there, meditating.

It was weird; I couldn't bear thinking of what had happened with Katy, but I also couldn't think of anything else. I was thinking and thinking and thinking, and not even filling my head up with chess was working. I knocked on the dorm room door.

After a moment, Bepi opened it. "Saya! What're you…" And I flung myself at him, my lips meeting his with a kind of aggression I didn't think I was actually capable of.

It might have been hours later but it was probably seconds when he pushed me away, still holding on to my shoulders. "Saya…" he said, looking addled. "…look, I'll do this, but we both know I'm not the person you really want to be with. Are you sure?"

That was a really dumb question. In response, I just forced myself forward and kissed him again. He let himself be pushed back and the door closed behind me.

 **DORM: GIUSEPPI'S ROOM**

It was awkward and terrible, of course. But there was a sweetness and gentleness, too, something comforting and warm. He was hard and muscular, but tender, too. It was hot. It was nice.

Afterwards, we lay on his bed, naked, holding hands, and looking up at the ceiling. We were quiet. Chess moves slowly played themselves out in my head.

"You ever done that before?" he asked.

"No."

"You're not gonna get weird, are you?"

I laughed. "I've actually never felt more sure of my platonic friendship with someone in my entire life."

"I really hope you're not the goddamn mastermind," he said.

"I hope you are the mastermind!" I replied. "Because I just this second realized that Monokuma watched that whole thing, and he's probably going to show the mastermind, too."

Bepi smirked. "Hmm. Well, in that case, I hope Rodrigo's the mastermind."

I pulled back and looked at him in shock, then laughed. He laughed too.

Just a few seconds later, there was a loud static sound coming from above us, and then a mechanical woman's voice droned "—is not responding. Please leave your mess—" more static "—the tone."

There was an ugly tone sound, and then a new voice began speaking. It was familiar; I'd heard it many times. "Uh, hi. Hey, this is Gareth McGregor, Ultimate Podcaster, NHU class of 2016 (go bear cubs). Yeah, um, I'm trying to, uh… contact A.A. for some help? I—" static "—just realized, you know, 'aw beans, the check-in date is coming and we haven't heard anything!' I don't know if this semester is just taking longer than usual or what, but I was talking to some of the other alumni, and we're getting a little worried. We—" static "—not doubting the mission or anything, don't worry about that! But I think I speak for everyone when I say we'd be more comfortable stepping into action from an explicit command, and not just from a dead man's switch, you know? T—" more static "—sure everything's fine! You're just on the ground masterminding with all those Ultimate Boys. But just get in touch as soon as you can so we won't all be freaking out. Okay? Okay. Right. Yes." After an awkward moment, there was a loud click.

More static, and then Monokuma's voice screeched out of the speakers. "Whoops! A ha ha! You weren't supposed to hear that, no sir! Just ignore… um…" He paused. "Emergency meeting tomorrow in the main quad!" And then there was another click.

I looked over at Bepi, speechless. He just shrugged. "Nothing can surprise me anymore," he said, rolling over onto his side. "If you stay over, careful touching me while I'm asleep, okay? I can get a little jumpy. See you in the morning."

It actually wasn't long before I heard him snoring. I gazed up at the ceiling, confused.

* * *

 _FACT 8: There is information about the school in the pods, but you have to pass some sort of test to get at it. The test is different in each pod._  
 _FACT 9: One of the pods has 'very important' information, but you have to have 'the right personality' to get in, and you only have one chance._  
 _FACT 10: Someone smashed up the computer lab, just like the cafeteria._  
 _FACT 11: The Cricket works by everyone being strapped in at the same time, and then it shines a red light when you tell a lie. A "lie" to the machine is a statement you know isn't true._  
 _FACT 12: The Cricket also forces you to answer any yes/no questions directed to you._  
 _FACT 13: One of the pods has a 'secret weapon,' but you apparently have to withstand tremendous pain to access it._  
 _FACT 14: A voicemail played from the loudspeakers from one of the alumni of the Ultimates program. He said that he and the other alumni weren't 'doubting the mission,' but they'd 'be more comfortable stepping into action from an explicit command, and not just from a dead man's switch.' Monokuma acted like this voicemail was not actually meant to play publicly._  
 _FACT 15: Our killing game is apparently taking longer than others in the past._


	32. Seminar on Aging and Adulthood, Part C

**DORM: UPSTAIRS HALLWAY**

Bepi wasn't kidding when he said he gets touchy when he sleeps. The slightest contact made him tense up, and anything more than that cause him to flail out an arm or leg like an attack from someone doing drunken kung fu. I also had forgotten he slept with his eye open, and even when I couldn't see it, it creeped me out knowing he was right there, glaring at nothing.

So, it wasn't long before I borrowed one of his T-shirts, which draped down over me like a dress, and I bundled up my own clothes and slipped out into the hall.

I paused for a second, reminding myself I had known these people for like two weeks. Bepi was my best friend (with… benefits…?) and Lucina was the love of my life, and Katy was the most horribly annoying person in the world, all from two weeks? My mom told me, a few months before I came, that everyone latches onto people at the beginning of freshman year and then, by spring, moves on to actual friends and never talks to that first group again in their lives. I'd just laughed it off, because the idea of me making any friends, much less two distinct sets, felt pretty outlandish.

I heard a creepy snicker, and I jumped in surprise. Juliet sat a few feet away, leaning her back against the wall, grinning. "Well, what do you know?" she leered. "It worked."

My heart kept pounding, but I quickly just glared.

"Hey, Saya," she drawled. "I want to talk to you. Come here."

"Why would you even ask that?" I wondered. "The machine today told us: you know I'm not stupid."

She went blank again. "I just want to talk. Go get that taser of yours if you need it to feel safe. I'll wait. It's important."

I did not particularly want to deal with her shit. But… I remembered how I felt earlier, with Katy. Did Juliet feel that way all the time? Maybe, if I associated that way of thinking with a person I hated, I could learn to hate that part of myself, too?

Without saying a word, I turned and walked to my room. I slipped inside, got my stun gun and put on a pair of pajama pants, and I went back into the hallway. Juliet didn't look like she'd moved a muscle.

I went closer to her, tightly holding my stun gun, feeling awkward all of a sudden. I stiffly sat down across the hall from her, leaning back against the opposite wall. "What."

"I wanted to talk about the information Monokuma gave me," she said, voice smooth as milk chocolate. I realized suddenly she was wearing, like, casual business attire: slacks and a nice, tucked-in blouse. I tried not to think about it. "When I was in the freezer."

I raised an eyebrow. "What about it?"

"Well. It wasn't just everyone's life histories. It was insights, too. Interpretations of all of you. Unsourced, but after that… announcement tonight, I figured out who it was from. Tamir Azzus and Natasha G. Greggs."

"Um." It felt enormously stupid to admit any ignorance to her, but I also knew I couldn't hide it. "Who?"

"Tamir Azzus, who I presume is the Ultimate Personality Psychologist, and Natasha G. Greggs, who… let's say… Ultimate True Crime Writer. Alumni. You've met Tamir. All of us have. Remember? 'If your life was a story, what genre would it be…?'"

"Wait… he did my application interview?" I asked, eyes bugging out. "That's why he asked us all those weird questions, to get our personalities?"

"To get your stories," she clarified. "The cause-and-effect that's defined you up to this point. And the… plot twists that would need to happen to make you want to kill. Or die."

I felt my hand squeezing the stun gun tightly. "So those fairy tales you wrote were supposed to get us to kill each other."

She laughed cheerfully. "Cutie, everything here is supposed to get us to kill each other. Do you think it was a coincidence we got a tank and an anti-tank weapon at the same time? Do you think you really just by accident stumbled upon a Monokuma escape tunnel?"

I felt my face going pale. "Even that…? Wait. Was Monokuma ever really even malfunctioning, or is that a game, too?"

"Dunno," she replied, shrugging. "Haven't figured that out, yet. It's a long con, if it's not real. I think he might have just underestimated Barrett, the way I underestimated Emily. Evil geniuses aren't perfect." She grinned proudly for exactly one second. "He didn't really have any reason to be too worried, though. Not with Girish Premachandran, class of 2013, Ultimate Computer Engineer on call."

I glared at her. "Am I just literally the only person here without, like, encyclopedic knowledge of every person who's ever graduated from this place?"

"Don't blame me if you don't research colleges before making a decision where to go."

I sighed. "So, what, you're saying Nicole was right? Everyone who graduated from this program is in some sort of cabal, working for the mastermind?"

"The man said it himself," she hummed. "They're all set to do something when commanded. Or from the dead man's switch. …You do know what a dead man's switch is, right cutie?"

Oh lord, she had figured out that I felt stupid admitting ignorance to her. "Ggh. Remind me."

" _Remind_ the girl with eidetic memory, well, okay." She grinned, one hundred percent pleased with herself. "As you clearly know and have just forgotten, a dead man's switch is a failsafe. It's when a machine stops… or starts… when someone gets incapacitated or unable to respond. It's a dead man's switch that the security systems here turn off when the mastermind dies."

I squinted at the floor, working it out in my head. "So… the alumni are supposed to do something if the mastermind doesn't check in with them by a certain time. Which means… the mastermind is actually in danger, here. They probably really are one of us." I looked back up at Juliet, trying to figure out how she was playing this, what evil goal she could accomplish, but I couldn't come up with anything. "So, we're on a time limit. The mastermind can't check in with the alumni until the game is over."

"Tick tock, tick tock."

I gasped, my stomach suddenly feeling hollow. "And… I don't think we're done yet. Like, I'm not feeling like someone willing to join a secret society to protect society from deviants. So… if we reach the end like this, the mastermind can't let us graduate, and…" I trailed off, not wanting to say it.

"Tick tock, tick tock."

I looked back up at her, narrowing my eyes into a glare. "What's your angle, here? Why are you talking to me about this?"

"Staying here would just be committing suicide," she admitted. "And I told you, I can't ever do that."

"Or," I said, "the mastermind is your new sweetheart, and this is somehow helping them."

"Or that."

Everything felt very pointless all of a sudden. "Juliet," I said helplessly, "what even is wrong with you? Why are you like this?"

She opened her mouth, oddly hesitant, and then closed it again. She looked away, almost shyly. "This is the other thing I wanted to talk about. I got a lot of information from the bear, but there were also things I figured out. Things between the lines."

This was too ambiguous to make me any more than slightly nervous, but I still felt a hitch in my breath. "Like what?"

"Just…" She paused, then took a deep breath. "Did you read my fairy tale?"

"Yes. The Wicked Princess."

She nodded. "It's basically true. I was just born… wrong. A bad seed. And I had no idea until I was ten, and my parents found a journal I'd been keeping, and they saw the… the horrific things I'd written there. Desires I had." She looked up at me, almost smiling. "I'd thought it was just normal, but it was monstrous. Just in case you thought innocent and evil couldn't go together."

She tossed up her hands helplessly. "But you can't change someone's nature. They tried and tried, but I was still… dirty inside. And they realized I was smart, too, and that I couldn't kill myself, and they got really scared. But my mom came up with the answer: if I had to be evil, I could at least be evil in service of something pure and good. And that's how it happened."

I shook my head in disgust, not wanting to get into the insanity of her supposed life story. "What's your point?"

"My parents." Juliet had her arms wrapped around herself. She looked weirdly vulnerable in a way I somehow could tell wasn't real. "See, we all have something in common. Something none of us have spent a lot of time thinking about. We're talented."

I raised an eyebrow. "I think all of us have spent a long time thinking about that."

"No, see, we're _very_ talented. And when you're a very talented child, there's something you probably don't realize. Your parents, these people who lead you and rule you and guide you… are your _inferiors_." She chuckled. "They're everything to you, but _compared_ to you, they're losers. And they know it. You don't, but they do. And how they react to that determines everything."

I wanted to argue with that; it felt really wrong. But I couldn't argue with it when I tried; it felt too right.

"My parents accepted the situation. They saw my potential and dedicated their whole lives to somehow turning my talents from evil to good. But not all are like that. Some find the quickest way to profit, some just get confused, some try to build a second self they can live through. And some… get bitter."

Her face was blank and doll-like again; she just looked at me. "Your friend Lucina was a musical prodigy. Absolute genius, mastered every instrument put in front of her. And her parents just couldn't stand it. They'd sacrificed so much for this helpless little thing, and she repaid them by growing into a constant reminder of their own insignificance? One day, they would die, and this ungrateful whore was going to still be alive, laughing and successful? They couldn't let that happen. So… they conditioned her."

She just shrugged. "Therion's parents never understood him; they left him alone to have to make his own meaning, all the time. Barrett frightened his parents, so they tried to suppress him; he rebelled. JP was spoiled, Earl was built up to represent his family in his greatness, Ashley… christ, what can we even say about Ashley? I just need to know the first sentence, and I can tell you everyone's whole story."

"Nothing is all pat like that!" I argued. "You think you're this great criminal trickster god, or whatever, but the truth is, you don't understand people at all; you're not capable of it! You come up with these simple stories, and you fill in the blanks by bluffing, but it's just guesses you're making because you can't do what everyone else can do, you can't empathize!"

She raised her head and looked at me sharply, what really appeared to be honest confusion on her face. "Can't empathize…?" she asked. "But that doesn't make any sense. If I couldn't empathize, then none of the stuff I do would hurt. And if it didn't hurt, how would I know it was evil?"

I squinted back. "If it hurts, why do you even do it?"

"I just said that!" she snapped, annoyed. "Because it's evil!"

Sighing, I pinched the bridge of my nose. "Jesus christ, Juliet." I started to stand up. "No. I can't do this, anymore."

"Wait!" Her voice was weirdly uncontrolled and her eyes were a little frantic. "Wait, Saya, you didn't let me finish what I was saying. And you need to hear this, you do."

I felt myself hesitating, and I internally swore at my own willingness to listen to her. But after a moment, I crossed my arms over my chest and looked down at her. "What."

"Among all of us here, you're different," she hissed. "Because you're the only one of us with a parent who cared so little, he never even knew you were special. You didn't grow up with one of our stories, and I think that makes you something the mastermind has never seen before."

I scanned her face for some sort of deception or manipulation, but deliberately or not, she had flicked a beauty switch and that was kind of blinding everything else. "What are you getting at, Juliet? Just say it straight out, or I'm leaving."

"You're a mystery," she whispered, her voice almost dreamlike. "The mastermind doesn't know what you're going to do next. That's why it has to be you who saves them."

"Saves 'them?' Who's 'them?'"

"The other students." She went blank again. "I'm not including myself, of course. This place is everything I've dreamed of. I'd never leave after getting here, never. But you can set the rest of them free."

"Why do you care?" I asked, narrowing my eyes at her.

She lolled her head to the side. A malicious grin slowly spread out onto her face. "Because you'd be doing it for love, cutie. Selfless, pure love. I can't imagine anything more beautiful."

I decided enough was enough. Without another word, I turned and walked off down the hall.

I got around the corner before I realized I had actually gone the wrong way: my room was behind me. I had to go down one elevator and back up the other to make it back. I tried not to think about how much effort I'd expended recently to pointlessly avoid giving Juliet any satisfaction.

 **DORM: SAYA'S ROOM**

I fell asleep easily, too distracted and tired to be anxious about what my dreams would be.

Earl lounged on a bean bag, blood dripping down from the side of his head. "Free... free will is a choice!" he said, his eyes bloodshot and his pupils dilated, but his voice still sharp. "It is when a person could do several things, and they choose one!"

Therion's head smirked, lolling on the seat of a nearby chair. "No. Everything has cause located back in time. Know all the causes of event, then know event. Like programming."

"Nein!" Earl snapped. "I choose things I want!"

"Desire comes from somewhere, too," Therion said. "Would shrug, but currently cannot."

JP poked idly at the knife in his chest as he lay on his back, staring up at the ceiling. "I read something once, like... okay. Plants, right? You put a plant in a room with an open window, and it'll turn toward the light, you know? It needs the sunlight, so it turns to get it. And... like, it didn't choose to do that; it's a plant."

"Plants don't have free will!" Nicole's lips, smushed against the wall, chirped.

"Yeah. " JP said, then he paused. "Whoa." The pause continued. "Anyway, but what if it did have free will, you know? It still would turn to the light! It'd get sick and die if it didn't. The only difference is, now, it _could_ choose to die. So! Is free will just, like... the ability to do dumb, pointless shit?"

"Ha!" Nicole's lips, jostled by the movement, began to slide slowly down the wall. "I kinda like that. 'Cause being rational is just following rules, you know? And freedom says fuck that."

"I... I cannot understand," Earl growled. "Even if it remains a mere matter of faith, I must continue to believe I am free to choose for my own good."

"Uuh... really?" JP asked, glancing over to him. "Isn't it better going around thinking you didn't ever have a choice, really? Everything... had to happen the way it happened? That's, like, all I got left."

"Of course not!" Earl sat up straight, as least as well as he could in the bean bag. "Everything I've done was the result of my own will. I'd be lost if I couldn't know in my heart that was true."

"Disagree," Therion mumbled. "Good author writes ending to story first. That way, everything put in place from start to reach inevitable conclusion. Nature is best author there is. Only dignity is to play the role honestly."

A sudden, loud squealing noise woke me up; my shock was so great, I actually flung myself onto the floor.

"asdaskUDENTS!" Monokuma's voice suddenly cut into the feedback. "Please gather in the main quad for an emergency meeting! Now!"

I blearily pulled the blanket off my head and sighed.

 **MAIN QUAD**

We groggily all stumbled out into the quad. Monokuma sat on top of Rocky's DJ equipment, twiddling his paws in what appeared to be nervousness.

Bepi gave me a warm smile, which was nice, but he had come out of the building with Rodrigo, and they chatted slightly. I subtly tried to position myself away from Katy and Lucina (who were wearing what couldn't possibly have been matching bathrobes but they sure looked like it) and I found myself standing next to Barrett. As we waited for Rocky, the last arrival, I glanced over to him and tried to smile in a friendly, nonthreatening way.

"Bear bear," he said. His platinum-blonde hair actually didn't look too bad, all told, but in combination with his new personality(?), it just made him look like some kind of confused alien.

Finally Rocky staggered out, wearing boxers and a tank top. "Thank you for joining us!" Monokuma snapped. "Well!" He hopped off the turntable and started pacing back and forth like a military instructor. "So! It has come to my attention that there have been some... rumors recently about a voice mail that was accidentally played over the public school speakers at some point over the past few days." He stopped and pounded a fist into his paw. "Well, I'm here to tell you, it's all lies! There have been no voice mails! In fact, voice mails are nothing but a lie concocted by elites to confuse you!"

"Tell the truth," I said, "you meant to play that thing for us, didn't you? It's just another stupid thing that's supposed to make us kill each other, somehow."

"Hey, that's a good point!" Rocky said. "This is all some game you have totally planned out."

"Yes right yes!" Monokuma agreed hastily. "Anything you may or may not have heard last night was just a kooky game motive! I... I really hope you pay close attention to it! Because then you'd fall right into my trap! Murder trap!"

"Oh, this is simply asinine," Jane muttered. "I'm going back to bed." She turned to go, and I was just admiring her gall, when there was a sudden, shockingly loud sound. Jane froze, but it wasn't enough: before I knew it, she was knocked to the ground.

Monokuma stood on top of her chest, pointing his shotgun right at her face. "I am a patient bear!" he shrieked. "But I just can't stand it when someone isn't showing me the respect I deserve! I am a distinguished faculty member of the most prestigious university in the country! Don't you think I deserve to be taken seriously?!"

"Bear bear!" Barrett yipped.

Jane stared up at him with wide eyes, frozen and shaking. She didn't say anything. I noticed Bepi had moved behind him, but he didn't step too close.

"Well?!" Monokuma snapped, poking the gun closer. "Don't you think I should be taken seriously?! Shouldn't you appreciate my kindness? Wouldn't anyone else have just burned you all after one of you tried to kill me?!"

"Yes!" Jane stammered, breathing quickly. She tried to pull back away from the gun muzzle. "P...please don't point that at me..."

Bepi softly took a step closer, body tensed like a snake, but Monokuma whirled on him. "Yes, Mr. Perfetto? You appear to be wanting to insert yourself into a situation that doesn't involve you. You enjoy that particular past-time, don't you?"

Bepi didn't move, he just hunched, watching the bear like a predator. "I guess I do," he said.

"You worthless children don't understand what it's like for me!" Monokuma hissed, stepping closer. "I have to keep track of everything happening here, all your stupid, worthless little actions, all the tricks, all the bullshit. And at the same time, I have to put on a facade of humanlike behavior!" He was right up against Bepi now, pressing the gun right against his face.

"Fiend!" Rodrigo bellowed, limping forward. "Point your weapon at me!"

"You just have to kill each other!" Monokuma snapped, ignoring Rodrigo completely. "You have it so easy! Meanwhile, I show up and have to figure out what's even going on, and I gotta keep this whole school running, and I let one voice mail slip out and all hell breaks loose! Not a single one of you ever thinks about anyone but yourselves, and I am _sick of it_!" And with a mighty boom, the gun went off.

There was frantic motion and chaos, and it took a few seconds for me to catch back up. Bepi was lying on the ground on his side, and Monokuma was gone.

I ran up to him and knelt beside him; a second later, Rodrigo and Rocky joined me. With relief, I saw that Bepi was breathing and grunting. His face was screwed up in pain, but I didn't see blood anywhere.

"I'm fine!" he grunted, pressing his hand against his head. He let me pull him to a seated position. "Goddamn it!"

"Are you all right?" I asked.

"I can't hear shit, Saya," he snapped. He groped at his ears, as if to check they were still there. My own ears were ringing, but I couldn't imagine how loud the blast had been right there near his face.

I suddenly realized that he wasn't wearing his baseball cap anymore.

Juliet appeared over my shoulder, holding out something red. Bepi looked at it in confusion for a few moments, then he snorted and grabbed it. It took me a few seconds longer, but I realized what it was. It was Bepi's hat, the brim blasted into oblivion.

"Fucking bear," he growled. At Rodrigo's concerned expression, he finally relaxed slightly and shook his head. "I'm fine, really. This has happened before. I just... give me a couple of hours, and I'll be able to hear fine."

"Two centimeters," Jane said, looking horrified. She was just staring at the demolished hat. "And that... that was me, first."

"He's just going to kill us," Rocky muttered from behind me. "That's how this ends."

"No, wait!" Bepi waved his hands around, frowning at all of our distressed expressions. "Really. Look, don't freak out. We're fine! He should have killed me, but he didn't. Right? He's probably not even programmed to be able to kill is."

No one responded, but he pushed himself to his feet and unsteadily grinned. "This is good news," he insisted. "I can't hear if any of you are arguing about it, but really, it is. I don't think he's so messed up that he can hurt us. If we keep it together, we're fine. Right? We're all fine."

His attempt at an encouraging smile didn't fade, but it did start to waver. I went over and put my hand on his back, guiding him away. "You should go lie down," I said, for the sake of everyone else rather than him. He let me guide him back into the dorm.

 **DORM: ELEVATOR HALL**

We stood outside the elevator; he leaned on me slightly and it was still almost enough to send me crashing to the ground. I glanced down at the destroyed hat in his hand and immediately wished I hadn't.

"They didn't believe me, did they?" he asked.

"I think,' I began, but of course he couldn't hear me, so he just kept talking.

"I'm no good at this." He sounded tired. "Well. Almost dying, I'm good at. Keeping up morale, not so much. Ashley was the one who specialized in that."

He grinned at me. I suddenly got the pun, and I couldn't help a laugh escaping my lips. This was all just so stupid.

He stopped grinning and sighed. "Really, though. If Ashley was here, she'd be yelling at everyone and keeping them focused. Even if it was to make everyone mad, she knew how to lead. Don't think I'm going to be able to take her place, there."

"I'm so sorry she died," I said again, even though I knew he couldn't hear me.

He didn't say anything. The button lit up and the elevator doors opened, and I helped him stagger inside.

DORM: SAYA'S ROOM

After dropping Bepi off in his room, I went back to try to nap some more myself. I wasn't all riled up like the day before, but I still couldn't sleep.

I got up and went over to the window, looking out over the quad. For the first time, I consciously noted that the Ultimate Vandal's message, spelled out in white letters, was still there... interrupted only by the crater he and Barrett made, so it spelled out NHU FEARS US. FIGHT THEM. KILL

I'd walked over and around these letters countless times, but I'd just stopped noticing them. But I couldn't help think about how weird it was... Monokuma made such a fuss about the Vandal's rebellion, but he never did anything to get rid of that message, staring us right in the face.

I noticed Rocky standing alone by his music equipment; it was set up directly next to the word FEARS. I watched him fiddle with his electronics for a minute or so. The guy was dedicated to his music, and I realized that was kind of the extent of what I knew about his personality, which was suddenly really embarrassing. I set myself and headed downstairs.

 **MAIN QUAD**

Rocky gave a friendly wave when he saw me coming, one headphone over an ear, the other ear exposed. My first impulse was to be suspicious; this dude had been a mess just a couple of days before... but I really did see nothing in his manner that seemed duplicitous even for a second.

"Hey, Saya!" he greeted cheerfully. "You okay after this morning? Crazy shit, huh?"

"Yeah," I answered, still vainly trying to search for some kind of hint he was secretly malicious. "You?"

"Oh, y'know," he replied unhelpfully. "The usual, freaking out, trying to just take it one minute at a time. That's my life strategy: take it one minute at a time."

"Hmm. Does it work?"

"Dunno. I'll tell you in one minute."

I laughed. "Yeah, fair enough." I glanced up at the sky, feeling the cooling autumn air. "Isn't it risky to set up your stuff outside? What if it gets rained on?"

"Hasn't rained yet," Rocky replied blithely. "It's been cloudy, but it hasn't rained." He shrugged and twisted a knob on his equipment. "Roddy said it was weird and, like, 'unnatural' or something, but I'm used to NYC, I don't know what 'natural air' is supposed to be like."

I nodded. "Miami's pretty polluted, too. What part of New York are you from, anyway?"

"Kinda all over!" He pressed the headphone against his ear, concentrating for a moment, and then turned another dial. "Grew up in Chinatown, past few years I've had an apartment in East Harlem. You ever been there?"

"Only a couple times, for chess tournaments. I... never really left the hotel, pretty much."

"Whaaaaaat!" He pointed at me suddenly. "Hey, real quick, better one..." he played one clamoring drum beat... "or better two?" he played another.

"Two. Yeah, people have told me I'd like New York, but... I think that's just because that's what everyone says to someone who doesn't really fit in where they are."

"Hell yeah, that's what the city's for!" he enthused. "Dude, this is perfect! If you're going in pretty much blind, I can show you all the best places!"

"Um. Really?" I couldn't keep myself from blushing slightly under his enthusiasm. "I mean, your music is great, but I'm not super into nightclubs."

"It's not just nightclubs," he assured me, fiddling with one little switch and then another. "Trust me. These are neighborhoods where, like, being gay is practically built into the DNA of the buildings. I guarantee, there's parts of you that have been needing that your whole life."

I found it very easy to focus on his horribly mixed metaphor than on the message of what he was saying. It was always very easy to just be thinky instead of just feeling whatever it was I didn't want to feel.

I'm in college now, I reminded myself. "You know what's dumb? You just said that, and I got really anxious. I saw a human being explode like two days ago, you'd think I'd be numb to, like, 'Oh no, people are gonna know I'm into girls.'"

"Trust me, I get it. Check it out." He played a little snippet of a song and I almost couldn't keep myself from automatically dancing... but he frowned and shook his head. "Way off-balance," he mumbled, then looked back up at me. "Hey, you gotten anything out of Luce about what Juliet said in the elevator before the trial?"

I blinked, startled by the change of topic. "About her parents?"

He took a deep breath and then nodded. "Yyyyeah," he said uncomfortably. "I mean... it's super shitty trauma bullshit, of course she doesn't want to talk about it. But like... I get a little worried sometime. Like, her parents were lying, right? They made her think she could only make awful sounds, but it wasn't true?"

I frowned, remembering what Juliet told me and remembering its source was a good reason to doubt that information. Still, I nodded. "Yeah, I think they must have been lying."

"Yeah." He paused for a moment, tinny beats coming out of his one earphone. "Like, but I'm not sure if she actually believes them or not. And Katy..." He trailed off.

"What about Katy?!" I asked, realizing a moment later I was sounding far too excited.

"Uh, no, nothing. I don't wanna talk shit. Katy's super-nice, and I really don't think she's gonna try to murder me, so..."

"It's okay," I said, trying to smile genuinely. "Katy's my best friend here; I'm not going to get the wrong idea."

He squinted at me and then sighed. "Okay. Like... Luce seems really happy with Katy, and that's great! But I heard her... like, I didn't hear what Luce said, obviously, but Katy told her something like, 'If you're telling me every sound you made is ugly, I believe you.'"

"What?" I asked, feeling my jaw clench up. "Why would she just let Lucina keep believing something so awful?"

"Dude, I dunno. Maybe she didn't want to pick a fight, or she was trying to be supportive? Felt fucked up, though. Oh!" He looked up, raising an eyebrow. "Then she called her 'My broken flower,' or some shit like that?"

"Broken flower?"

"I dunno, maybe I misheard. Just like, if you can talk to Luce about this without her biting your head off, give it a shot, okay?"

"Yeah." I tried to keep myself from stewing. Was Katy being malicious, or was she just so bad about people that she thought this kind of thing was okay?

I started to say something, but Rocky waved in my direction. "Oh hey, dude."

I blinked, looking at him blankly, then turned to look behind me. Barrett stood less than a meter away, smiling and giving a thumbs up. I shrieked and jumped away.

"Goddamn it, where did you come from?!" He must have walked up completely silently; I hadn't heard a thing.

"Chomp chomp," he said.

I gazed at him, looking for some sign of sapience, and I found nothing. "Uh." I glanced over at the DJ. "Uh, Rocky, I really don't think he's okay."

Rocky just shrugged. "It's a death game. He'd be fucked up if he was okay."

Barrett's face changed like a ventriloquist puppet's would. "Saya," he said, and it seemed like a herculean effort to say the word. "Don't." He took a pause, then, "be scared. I'm trying to be..." He looked up and around as if searching for the right word. Finally, he fixed his eyes back on me: "...better."

I paused and then nodded. "Is it working?"

"No." He ran a finger across his lips and then looked at his hand, as if he expected there to be blood there. "But soon. Soon."

 **SOUTH QUAD**

With nothing else to do, I decided to explore. I wandered around the quad for a few minutes, trying to figure out if any seemed better than any others. They were all equally mysterious, no hint to the contents except for the one near the entrance that promised special secret information (I had taken to calling it the Asshole Cube because of the judgment it'd made against my personality).

I was just about to walk into a random module, when I heard a loud shriek. I froze, and the noise cut off suddenly and was replaced with another sharp wail. Every part of me said to go hide somewhere, but by the time I realized that, I was already running full-speed towards the sound, rolling my eyes about what an idiot I was.

I turned a corner and found myself at the cube Bepi had taken me to, the one with the secret weapon inside. Rodrigo stood by the entrance, leaning against the door, looking dazed. "Hail, Friend Saya," he groaned, creakingly forcing himself to a standing position.

"What was that sound?" I asked. "Was that you? Are you okay?"

He took a deep breath and nodded. "Ay. I attempted to bear the brunt of the terrible machine, but… I found myself unable." Surprisingly, he grinned. "But, I neared the top. With proper preparation, I'm confident I could do it."

"You wanted to get the secret weapon?" I asked, raising my eyebrow.

"Of course! Such a thing is too dangerous to simply be available. Whatever it is, it must be destroyed."

"You… think one of us would use it?"

"No! I trust my classmates and colleagues!" He sounded deeply affronted, sticking out his chest at me, but then he quickly deflated. "However, it can be difficult to resist temptation. I have been specially trained at such things, however."

"Hmm." I glanced into the cube and saw that yes, the door was still closed. "Maybe it's better if no one gets it."

To my surprise, he laughed. I glowered, feeling weirdly made fun of. "What? What's so funny?"

"Nay, Friend Saya, I apologize if my laughter appeared to be at your expense! But I said a similar thing earlier today, but about the secret information in the other cube. I was relieved when it said my personality was defective, and a part of me hopes it remains so for us all."

"What? Why? And why is it funny?"

He bowed his head, sensing my irritation but still smiling. "I was merely struck by differences in our situation. To me, a weapon can be dangerous, but it can also be contained. But information and secrets? Those are uncontrollable, mad, mysterious! But to you, it seems, things are reversed! You feel confident to handle information, no matter what it is."

"Huh. Maybe." I thought about it for a minute and then shrugged. "Jane said yesterday that it's better to get all the info we can, even if we think it might be lies. Knowing's always better than not knowing. I had kinda thought that was a recipe for being overconfident and getting tricked, but… I think I just realized I agree with her."

"'Tis a good thing!" he asserted, nodding confidently. "The monks meant to convince me of many foolish things, and one of them was that my training as a Paladin would leave me suited to handle any challenge. Even as a child, I knew such a lesson was nonsense. Just as Moses and Aaron needed one another to convey the word of God to the people, my skills must be complementary to others'."

"I guess that makes sense." I raised an eyebrow at him. "Are you going to try again?"

"In a bit. I must recover emotionally from my previous attempt. In the meantime, would you like to accompany me to seek new secrets?"

I felt myself getting swept up in his enthusiasm and I smiled. "Sure."

 **SOUTH QUAD: RED AND WHITE MODULE**

We stepped into the module we'd randomly selected. There was a screen on the wall, a button with a little microphone next to it, and instructions: Read ten colors in ten seconds!

"Read colors?" I mused. "Weird. Want to try it?"

"You try first, I distrust buttons and switches."

"Um. Fair enough." I walked up to the button and pressed it. Instantly, a column of words appeared on the screen: GREEN RED ORANGE and so on. But, each word was a different color, and the color didn't match what the word spelled! "Uh…" I took in the blue word that spelled GREEN, bewildered. "Green? … Red. Blue…" A loud buzzer sounded, startling me, and the screen went black.

"Well, damn it," I said. "That is much harder than it looks."

I pressed the button again and got a new list of words, and this time I didn't make any mistakes, but I only got halfway through before time ran out. Rodrigo gave it a shot next, without much luck.

"This is… really frustrating," I grunted.

"Try again?" he offered. "You were getting better!"

Heartened, I tried again and failed spectacularly. I didn't like this.

"It's all right!" Rodrigo said, clapping me on the back. "'Tis better than I can do. I just recently learned these words are not Spanish!"

I nodded, not feeling much better, but his comment reminded me of something. "Hey," I said, "you said you got sent to the monastery really young, right?" He nodded. "So… you don't remember your parents at all?"

He squinted. "Why do you ask?"

"Um. I was just thinking recently about how little things your parents do can make a big difference later. But… I guess your parents only did one big thing."

He was silent for a moment. "I truly have no hatred in my heart towards them for sending me away. I am led to understand they were rewarded greatly, and they truly believed themselves incapable of raising a child anointed as a great paladin."

"Really?"

He took a deep breath and then looked straight at me. "Ay. I cannot feel anger towards the weak, merely sadness."

I frowned. "Do you want to track them down… you know, once we get out of here? Ask them about it?"

"No." His voice was stark and his jaw tense. "No, but not because I do not have questions I wish to ask them."

"Then why?"

"Ahh…" he had an oddly evasive expression on his face, but then he shook his head, as if getting rid of a bad thought. "It is merely… ah. You see, the monastery rarely had visitors, and when they came it was usually other monks. But once, when I was on the cusp of manhood, there was a… man and a woman that I glimpsed across the courtyard and through a window. They were watching me very curiously. I rose and reached out a hand… but they turned away. A brief moment, but…. ah. Sometimes brief moments leave deep impressions."

I didn't say anything.

He sighed sadly. "In my heart, I know those were my parents. When they turned away, I lost something. Or perhaps gained something? Or both at once." He paused. "But. I cannot face the idea of finding them, seeing them, and knowing it for sure."

I paused but then nodded. "I get it," I said, and I think it was true.

He looked down at his feet, took a deep breath, and then suddenly lurched back up, fire in his eyes, holding a fist outward. "Introspection has filled me with energy and strength!" he enthused! "Friend Saya, let us leave these horrible colors behind! I feel I am ready to conquer the challenge of pain!"

"Okay!" I agreed, his energy infectious. "Let's do it!"

 **SOUTH QUAD: PINK AND YELLOW MODULE**

Before we even walked in, I felt like something was weird. As our eyes adjusted to the dimmer light, I instantly saw what it was: the door net to the pain machine was ajar.

"Ods bodkins!" Rodrigo bellowed. "What has happened! Is it a devilish illusion?!"

But no, the door really was open. "It was sealed tight when we left!" Rodrigo insisted.

"Yeah, I saw it myself." I hesitantly walked forward and pulled the door open, half expecting a monster to jump out and attack me. There was just a nondescript room on the other side. Shrugging, I headed inside, Rodrigo following.

 **SOUTH QUAD: PINK AND YELLOW MODULE: BACK ROOM**

The room was small and almost totally empty. There was a large sign on the wall saying **HELP YOURSELF TO THIS SECRET WEAPON**! and an arrow pointing to a table. The table contained nothing but a small device with a slot in it… like some kind of cradle or charger.

"Is this the weapon?" Rodrigo asked, bewildered.

I picked up the device, examining it closer. "I don't think so. I think the weapon was hooked in to this, but someone took it." I set down the charger, frowning. "Weird. Whatever it was, it was small and electronic."

"Electronics," Rodrigo glowered. "Darkness and danger around every turn in this mad, computerized world!"

I nodded, not sure what to say to that. Since there clearly wasn't anything else in the room, I turned to go, but I froze. The inside of the door had a sign on it we hadn't seen It read, in big, black letters, **YOU GOT THE POWER NOW, YOU LUCKY DUCK. GET TO MURDERING!**

I shared a grim look with Rodrigo, and we left.

 **SOUTH QUAD: WHITE AND GREY MODULE**

Rodrigo decided to head off to help Rocky with his music, and I wasn't quite sure what else to do. I couldn't really convince myself none of us were in danger anymore, so it felt reckless to wander around alone in this quad, which was full of hiding places and dead ends. But as I walked past the Asshole Cube, I saw movement inside, so I investigated.

Lucina bent over the table, filling out one of the personality surveys. She was thinking about one of the questions, the little tip of her tongue stuck out as she concentrated, and it was so endearingly cute, I nearly fell down.

"Hey," I said, keeping it as cool as possible.

She turned and waved, smiling genuinely but not quite warmly. She held up a note saying _Did you do this? I hate answering questions about myself._

I giggled. "Me too. Yeah, I did it. You only get one chance, but I have no idea what they want."

She nodded, still filling in bubbles while, with the other hand, she jotted out and held up, _Katy thinks this was supposed to be some killing game motive, but it's not working right or isn't fully set up. Makes sense to me._

I did not frown, which I'm proud of. "Where is Katy, anyway? I'm surprised you're not together."

She paused a moment, but then she just showed me, _Writing. She says I inspire her, which feels pretty great._

"Yeah, I bet." We lapsed into silence, but before I could get too awkward, she nodded smartly and stood up, the bubble sheet in her hand. She slid it in the slot and we waited.

"Good luck," I said, and she grinned at me.

But, familiarly, the screen just displayed **INCORRECT PERSONALITY**. Lucina just shrugged and held up a note that said _Rats_.

We stood facing one another for a moment, and that time it did get awkward. But luckily I remembered the important part. "Oh! I need to tell you something. You know that secret weapon at the other end of the quad? The one with the pain machine? Someone got it. I don't know who."

Her head jerked up in alarm. _Could you tell what the weapon was?_

"No. But it was definitely made to be used in a murder. So just… be careful going around alone, okay?"

She took a deep breath and nodded. _Thank you._

"Oh. Um… yeah, of course." More awkward silence, but this time I barreled through. "Hey, do you remember the first night here, we played chess together?"

 _I remember being really bad at chess._

"Oh, c'mon, you were pretty good for someone who doesn't play all the time!" I tried to laugh; it didn't really work. "Um… anyway, that was really fun and it felt normal. I wanted to ask if you wanted to do it again? Katy can come too, of course."

She considered that a moment, then wrote, _Really? You'd be okay with me and Katy?_

"Yeah!" At her skeptical look, I withered slightly. "I mean… I know it'd be worse to not be able to be around people I trust."

She considered that and then shrugged. _OK, but I'm going to figure out a way to turn conducting into a competition so I can demolish you and get you back._

I laughed. It felt pretty good.

 **DORM: SAYA'S ROOM**

We collected Katy, who seemed delighted about playing with us, and we all went upstairs. My tension level went from an eleven to about a three as soon as I touched my first pawn to make the first move. It was just right to be sitting here, playing this game.

Lucina was still awful. Katy was actually really, really good. Like, _really_ good: she made me switch strategies twice midgame to beat her.

"Aww," she said when she finally lost the second time. "I felt like I was getting it, too."

"You definitely already got it," I remarked. "You could win tournaments! I thought you'd only played a couple of times before!"

She blushed and shrugged. "Well yeah, but… I guess I get a whole narrative going? It's easy to see how all these pieces are different characters in a story, and then they just… do what they'd do. I can't really describe it."

Lucina stood up and gave Katy a quick smooch on the lips, then she signed something I didn't understand and Katy smiled. I felt my tension rising back up to double digits, but I didn't feel angry, and that was at least a step in the right direction.

Katy said, "Aw, my sweet broken flower," and she held Lucina's hand lovingly. I tried not to react.

Katy then pounced on me, wrapping her hands around my waist. "Thanks so much for playing with us, Saya!" she enthused, pulling back and giving me a kind grin. "This was really fun. I'm exhausted now, but let's do it again tomorrow night!"

"Sure, I said, as neutrally as I could. She and Lucina, holding hands, went to the exit. I followed them and waved goodbye as they left.

I laid my forehead against the door and took a deep breath. I tried to remind myself: I'm staying safe, and that's the important thing. Help the angel break up with her evil, manipulative girlfriend later. Right now just don't get murdered.

I walked over to the window and looked down. It was already pretty dark, but I could see two figures… what I assumed were Rocky and Rodrigo… standing by the musical equipment. I suddenly realized how frustrating it must be for an expert to try to work with a total neophyte on something like this… but Rocky was keeping his temper. And I realized how intimidating and weird it must be to work with crazy future technology… but Rodrigo was still open and curious.

It suddenly and starkly occurred to me that every single one of us was trying to grow. Even in the midst of all this danger, we were working hard to be better people. I felt renewed determination: whatever the mastermind wanted, I was not going to let them destroy all this effort.

I turned and walked to my bed, but I noticed something odd and paused. There was a small piece of paper near the door to the hallway. I walked closer and saw it was a note. Was it one of Lucina's communications that she'd dropped on the way out? Or did someone slip it under my door…?

I picked it up and unfolded it. It said, _Saya, meet me in the South Quad at 1:00am. Come alone. It's about L. It's important. Please. –Katy_

I stared at the note, feeling my forehead creasing. I was forced to consider a question I'd never asked about myself, but it was clearly relevant now.

Just how stupid was I?

* * *

 _FACT 16: According to Juliet, all the alumni are working with the mastermind and were involved with our recruitment._

 _FACT 17: Also according to Juliet, the mastermind finds me intriguing because they can't figure me out._

 _FACT 18: Monokuma threatened us with a gun and almost shot Giuseppi, but he pulled back at the last second._

 _FACT 19: Someone got access to the secret weapon. I don't know what the weapon is, but I think it's probably pretty small and electronic._

 _FACT 20: I received a note, supposedly from Katy, inviting me to the south quad late at night. I'm not certain it's actually from Katy, but it might be._


	33. Seminar on Aging and Adulthood, Part D

**DORM: SAYA'S ROOM**

I thought through the situation as dispassionately as I could. This was obviously some sort of murder plan, right? This had to be. A mysterious note (from my sworn enemy) to go alone, in the middle of the night, to a weird, dangerous place? It was almost insulting my intelligence.

But. If it wasn't fake? What if Lucina was in some sort of danger? Even beyond my… personal feelings, she was my ally here in this game. And… not beyond my personal feelings, if whoever had the secret weapon wanted to target her…

I glanced at my tablet to check the time: it was a little past 10:00.

I tried to be rational. If this was trying to lure me into a trap to be murdered, it wasn't really an ideal plan. If I had my stun gun and stayed out in the open, it'd be hard to get me. But on the other hand, I wasn't sure what this secret weapon was.

If this was meant to lure me somewhere to frame me for a murder, then it was really dumb to leave a note, which I could just show everybody. And it'd be really stupid to plan any sort of murder with The Cricket right there, right? It'd be impossible to get away with anything if we all can be hooked up to a perfect lie detector. It began to feel very unlikely this was a trap.

I eventually decided: I had to go, but I wouldn't be stupid enough to actually go alone. I needed back-up I could trust. I needed Bepi.

I waited until 12:40, killing time by showering, changing clothes, and simulating chess games. When the time came, I grabbed my stun gun, opened my door, and slipped out into the hall.

 **DORM: UPSTAIRS HALLWAY**

I crept down the hall towards Bepi's room, and I knocked quietly. Realizing that was counter-productive, I knocked again.

Nothing happened. I started to feel awkward.

I knocked again. Nothing.

I'd thought he usually went to bed pretty early, but maybe I was wrong. It wasn't as if I knew every detail about his life… I just for some reason had felt sure he'd be in his room. Maybe he was still deafened from the gunshot today?

It wasn't even that weird, but something felt off. My chest had a weird twisting feeling, like there was tension I'd been breathing in. What a dumb Saya-ish thing to do: I'd gone to get someone to help me be secure and safe and instead I'd picked up a bunch of worry.

"Screw it," I mumbled. Stuffing the anxiety down as tight as I could, I decided to just go on my own. I walked quickly to the nearest elevator.

 **MAIN QUAD**

I hadn't been in the quad for even a single full second, when I heard her voice. "Hey, Saya."

Emitting an undignified peep, I jumped and turned to the sound. Juliet sat, leaning against the dorm, right next to the door I'd just walked through.

I didn't respond, first from shock and then from irritation. She just shook her head at me disapprovingly. "Sneaking around at night during a killing game is generally not a good idea. One might think you were up to something."

"Well, I'm not," I snapped. "I'm just… making… exercise."

She rolled her eyes and held up a piece of paper; I immediately recognized it as Katy's note. "Hey! How'd you…"

"I'm really sneaky." She unfolded the note and read it. "…Are you seriously that stupid, Saya?"

"Who's stupid?" Rocky's voice asked, and I jumped in surprise again. He was walking over from his DJ equipment, scratching his head.

"Saya." Juliet held up the note, and Rocky took it, glancing at it.

"Hey!" I objected. "That's…"

"…Katy," Rocky finished reading aloud. He looked up at me, raising an eyebrow. "Dude, this is super sketchy, you really going to where this note says?"

"I brought my stun gun!" I defended, holding up the weapon. "And I wasn't going to go alone! Bepi just didn't answer his door!"

"Giuseppe might have written that note," Juliet said, rising to her feet. "Trust me, I know you can't trust damaged boys. You want to, but you can't."

"Oh yeah," Rocky agreed. "I mean, I get it. All wounded and sensitive? But it's bad news." He did a slight double-take at Juliet. "Hey, what are you wearing?"

For the first time, I noticed Juliet was dressed like some kind of sexy librarian: glasses, hair in a bun, long skirt, cardigan. "Oh, my apologies," she said breezily. "I thought I was going to run into Jane tonight."

"Aggh." I stomped my foot, trying not to think about that. "Why are you guys even up, anyway?"

"Uh, because it's barely after midnight," Rocky replied. "What am I, fifty?"

"I don't sleep," Juliet said.

I sighed. "Well, I guess this is fine anyway. It's probably for the best I'm not going to this weird note-meeting."

Rocky frowned. "Huh, do you think? Maybe you should go. If someone's planning a murder, we should all know, right?"

Juliet glared up at him. "Really? You're saying that, Mr. Icepick?"

"Well… yeah!" he defended. "It's good that Roddy stopped me. If someone came up with this really obvious plan to kill Saya, who knows what they'll do next? We gotta stop 'em."

"Hey…" I began, but Juliet cut me off.

"You're saying we should just run headlong into what is clearly a very blatant trap to murder Saya?"

"I don't…"

"No!" Rocky argued. "Not run headlong, we'd be careful, but we should still do something."

"I'd rather run headlong," Juliet mused. "Seems like it'd be more interesting."

"Stop!" I snapped. "This might not be a trap! And Rocky, stop listening to her; she's evil."

"Oh yeah." He paused a moment and then literally slapped himself in the head. "Ohhhhh. She wrote it. Right? She was gonna try to kill you."

"Kinda obvious, isn't it?" Juliet asked, raising an eyebrow. "Hey, I bet Rocky wrote the note. That's why he's out here."

"No!" Rocky protested. "I promised I wasn't going to try to murder again."

Juliet rolled her eyes. "Oh, well if you promised, then never mind." She glared at me. "Saya, don't be a dummy."

I looked at her, and then I looked at Rocky, and then I looked back at her. "I'm going inside," I said, turning around.

"No, hey, wait," Rocky's voice called, stopping me. "No joke, this is serious. Right? Someone's up to something, and I know I'd feel way safer if I knew who it was. I'm gonna go check this out if you won't."

"What?" I gaped at him, not believing what I was hearing. "No, come on, that's not safe! That's the whole point, right?"

"Yeah, but like…" He waved his hands around vaguely. "…Like the whole dangerous thing about a trap is that you don't know it's a trap, right? So we can walk into this one, where it's not gonna be dangerous because we know it's a trap, and try to learn something. Or we can just sit around and wait for the next trap, which will be dangerous because we won't see it coming."

"The kid makes a good point," Juliet said. She rolled back and then hopped to her feet like a goddamn ninja. "And relax! There's three of us, and you're armed. What's going to happen?"

I squinted at her skeptically. I tried to imagine a scenario where she and Rocky were in cahoots to plan a murder, but I was not successful… it was just too far-fetched. I squeezed the stun gun in my hand. "It's probably not even a trap," I said.

"Ugh." Juliet rolled her eyes. "Whatever." She just started walked directly towards the south quad. "I'll go first, you babies."

I glanced at Rocky; he looked suddenly unsure about this whole thing. "Uh, for what it's worth," I said, "I don't think you're going to try to kill me."

He grinned. "Oh! That means a lot, dude, thanks!" He cheerfully followed after Juliet, all apprehensiveness apparently forgotten. Sighing, I went, too.

 **SOUTH QUAD**

Everything looked pretty normal. The lamp posts cast bright lights, but I couldn't see far beyond the entrance, the sharp angles of the modules and the dark shadows they cast blocked the view. Everything suddenly felt extremely ominous.

Juliet looked like she'd never been scared of anything in her life, which, I realized, might actually be true. She peered off into the darkness, frowning. "What do you think?" she asked. "I expected it'd be apparent where to go, but I'm not sure."

"Hey, look," Rocky said, pointing. I saw where he was looking: it was the Asshole Cube, the one with the personality test and the Very Important Information. There was a flickering light coming from inside. "Weird!"

He started walking towards the cube. "Why do you think… whaa!" He suddenly stumbled forward.

I darted towards him, but something stopped me from getting too close. "Are you okay? What happened?"

Rocky looked down; there was a broken string right where he'd been walking. "Some kind of stupid tripwire or something. What…" A sudden thunk stopped him short.

I was confused by what I was seeing at first. Rocky was suddenly standing there and then he was not.

It was because he had thrown himself to the ground, covering his head. "Booby trap!" he hollered.

The thunk sounded again, and this time, a round, silver shape shot out into the light, awkwardly wobbling. It landed several meters away from anyone and lay there, as if exhausted.

"Huh." Juliet strolled over to the silver object and knelt down, examining it. "It's… hey, do you know what this is?" She grimaced at Rocky. "Oh, get up. It was a really shitty booby trap."

We cautiously walked over to her. I looked at the disc, rubbing the back of my head in confusion. "Um… is that a pizza tray?"

"Oh, yeah!" Rocky said. "Like from the cafeteria." He poked it with his toe. "Someone… like, cut it in half?"

Juliet nodded. "Looks that way. And I think they filed the edge down too, to make a point. This was not a good plan." She smirked up at Rocky. "Are you sure you didn't write this note after all?"

"Shut up!" Rocky grumbled.

Trying to ignore them, I carefully walked closer to the cube. In the dark next to it, there was an odd-looking contraption apparently built out of various objects from the student stores: a rat trap, some bungee cord, legos. Someone put a lot of work into making a terrible booby trap.

"This is weird," I said. "There's really dangerous weapons, and someone tries to cobble together some medieval catapult with a pizza tray?" I looked back at the others and paused. They were staring into the flickering light of the cube, Juliet smirking as if privately amused, and Rocky pale, mouth hanging open.

He pointed. "Blood," he said.

I jumped to my feet and ran over, looking into the Asshole Cube with them. He was right: there was a smear of blood on the floor, glowing in the flashing light.

 **SOUTH QUAD: GREY AND WHITE MODULE**

We carefully and hesitantly walked inside. I noticed three things immediately: there was a damaged computer monitor lying on its side, providing the flickering white light. The door, with its sign promising very important information, was wide open. And the blood streaked its way on the floor right through it.

"Oh fuck," Rocky whimpered. "This… oh fuck. What…?"

"It happened again," Juliet said. Her tone caught me by surprise, and I looked over at her. She seemed actually angry. "Goddamn it," she mumbled. "At least it wasn't Saya, but… goddamn it."

My attention was captured by the computer screen next to the door. It showed something completely new, a readout I hadn't seen before. It said **CORRECT RANKING OF PERSONALITY TRAITS! 1. NEUROTICISM 2. CONSCIENTIOUSNESS 3. OPENNESS TO EXPERIENCE 4. EXTRAVERSION 5. AGREEABLENESS. ENTRY APPROVED!**

"…What if we don't go in?" Rocky asked. "What if we just close the door and leave? We won't have to have a trial, we won't have to see it. We can just… pretend it didn't happen."

"No, we can't," I said numbly. "We have to know. We have to face it."

I took a deep breath. I wasn't ready. I walked forward.

 **SOUTH QUAD: GREY AND WHITE MODULE: SMALL ROOM**

I somehow felt it before I knew. The corpse lay almost casually, propped up against the wall, facing directly towards me. The room was cold, and I suddenly noticed there was blood everywhere.

I thought, "It's not fair."

It wasn't fair. It wasn't fair at all. The last thing he'd told me was that he was trying to be better, and now he'd never have the chance.

Barrett Wood, the Ultimate Demolitionist, leered at me from the corner of the room. A long, narrow pole stuck out of his left eye, blood streaking down over half of his face. He looked content.


	34. Seminar on Aging and Adulthood, Part E

_Q: Tell me about your parents, please.  
BW: My parents? The fuck you asking about them for?  
Q: Would you prefer not to discuss them?  
BW: 'Prefer not to discuss.' Oi, look at the big man pulling his psychology shit on me! Listen, I 'prefer not to discuss them' in the same way I 'prefer not to discuss' a ciggie I just finished. It's done what it was ever gonna do. It's nothing but smoke now._

* * *

As Monokuma appeared from nowhere and pranced around the room in delight, I just felt myself sinking down to the floor. This was all so useless and stupid. Monokuma's voice announced something over the PA, but I wasn't listening.

People started to trickle in to the murder scene. I barely noticed. I was remembering what Nicole had said: from going to this school, Barrett was just going to turn in to someone who protected the system, who demolished poor people's neighborhoods. I didn't realize it at the time, but I'd felt a weird set of emotions from that. I wanted her to be wrong, but I thought she probably wasn't, but I had hope he'd prove himself. And now, it was all just for nothing.

A cold feeling lingered in my stomach as I looed around the room at my gathered classmates (suspects). No one looked shocked, by this point; there was just a universal expression of grim grief on everyone's faces.

Lucina and Katy huddled together, and I found myself just grateful they each had someone to comfort them. Lucina's hair wasn't in her usual ponytail; it draped over her shoulders, held in place with a headband, and I allowed myself just a moment to appreciate her loveliness.

Rocky had his hand on Rodrigo's shoulder. Juliet was standing oddly, one hip out to the side, and I realized she was posing for Jane, who was pale and shivering, but who seemed to be successfully distracted. Bepi stood alone, glaring at Monokuma with such contempt, I could suddenly get a glimpse, for the first time, of what he'd be like on a battlefield. He wore his uniform, like usual, and standing among most of the rest of us in our pajamas or sweats, he looked kind of terrifying.

And Barrett… Barrett just sat against the wall, as if he was relaxing. Across from him was an odd, pieced-together contraption, like the one I'd seen outside, which had launched the pizza tray. Blood was all over this room and the next room, but I remembered there hadn't been anything outside.

Suddenly, beeping went off around the room. "Aha!" Monokuma announced cheerfully, "your Monomail has arrived! You'll find all the details…"

"We fucking know how it works by now," Bepi snapped. Monokuma didn't seem to mind: apparently a murder was good enough news for him that he could tolerate being disrespected.

I pulled out my tabled and beeped it on. Opening the new message, I found the starkly dry information:

 _BODY ANNOUNCEMENT_

 _The deceased is Barrett Wood, the Ultimate Demolitionist. Time of death: approximately 11:15pm. Cause of death: Impalement through the eye with a metal table leg. No other injuries are present on the body, but he had high levels of valium and oxycontin in his system at time of death._

I blinked. Valium and Oxytocin? But before I could say anything, Monokuma clapped his paws. "All right, kids, better hurry! As you know, you only have ten minutes before it's time for the trial!"

There was a loud uproar, and Monokuma just giggled. "Oh, I may have forgotten to tell you that after all the hubbub yesterday! Yes, for this murder you'll only have ten minutes to investigate! I hope you make it count!"

Jane put her hand on her chest, as if trying to control her breathing. "We… we have access to that machine, right? The lie machine?" Monokuma nodded, and she looked grimly at everyone. "Then that's what we have to do. I'm sure there's some stupid word game the killer can try to play, but we'll get more out of that than just looking around randomly for ten minutes."

"Nay, we cannot trust that vile machine!" Rodrigo argued. "Our own senses are more than enough! The bear is clearly trying to force us to use the machine!"

"Yeah, because it's there to help us!" Jane snapped. "To make the murder more interesting for the mastermind, the sick fuck. We can trust it to do its job."

Rodrigo opened his mouth to reply, but Katy's voice cut him off: "Let Saya decide."

There was a pause as everyone looked at her. She blushed but continued. "We don't have time. Saya's the detective; let her decide."

Everyone looked at me. I expected some sort of conflict, from Jane or Rodrigo or Juliet, but jesus christ did they all seriously trust me to protect them like this? I'm just a nerd who plays chess. But all I said was, "The Cricket." Rodrigo didn't look happy, but they all nodded and we just all filed out toward the exit.

 **SOUTH QUAD: THE CRICKET**

Monokuma stood in his place in the center, tapping his foot impatiently. I went to my old seat from before and started to strap myself in, keeping an eye on everyone else. Suddenly, there was a form in front of me; I froze and looked up to see Bepi.

He held out a pen and a piece of paper, blank on one side and with a personality test on the reverse side. "Here, to take note," he said. "Keep track of shady wording. Remember, this machine is pedantic as shit: it doesn't care what people mean, it only cares what people say."

I nodded and felt myself smiling in relief: someone else was taking the lead on an important thing, here. I took a paper and pen, and he went around the circle, offering his implements to everyone.

I didn't notice any shenanigans with people not fully attaching themselves to the Cricket, and we were all pretty quickly set up. Monokuma pushed the power button and we lit up with blue lights again, just like before.

"Okay, go nuts, kids!" he chortled. "Don't worry, I'll let you know when your time's almost up!"

For a moment, we all looked around at each other, apparently hesitant to start talking. Finally, Bepi spoke, clearly and loudly. "Saya, did you murder Barrett?"

I felt the pain begin in my head, but I was still grateful for the direct way he'd begun things. "No." He caught my gaze and nodded. "Giuseppe, did you kill Barrett?"

He stared down at his lap and took a deep breath; he apparently couldn't resist the chance to milk the moment for drama. But he looked up, confident and stark: "I did not kill Barrett."

I heard a tearing sound and looked over to see Lucina holding out a page with large, dark magic marker: _I didn't do it, either._

"I… I didn't kill him," Katy said.

"I killed Barrett," Juliet said, and red lights lit up all around her.

"Ugh," Jane muttered. She crossed her arms over her chest. "You are much less amusing than you think you are. And no: I did not kill Barrett Wood."

"I did not and would not kill Friend Barrett," Rodrigo said.

Rocky rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. "Uh. Me neither."

There was a pause, and we all looked around at one another. Juliet grinned. "Oh, thank goodness," she said. "I was afraid this would be too easy." Again, red lights lit up all around her.

Jane shook her head impatiently. "Goddamn word games," she muttered. "All right, the killer figured out some way to cheat the machine so far, but if we get into the details, I'm sure they'll slip up." Despite her confident tone, her lights turned red. She ignored it. "What do we know?"

"He was drugged," I spoke up. "The message we got said he had valium and oxycontin in his system."

Rodrigo raised a finger in the air. "Friends, I'm afraid I don't know what that means. Could someone…"

"They're downers," Rocky interrupted. "They make you all sleepy and dopey."

"Oh… oh, was that why he was acting like that?" Katy asked hesitantly. "Oh god, I thought he was just traumatized!"

"He was," I said. "Even if he was drugged too, he still suffered here. And he still wanted to be better. I believe him when he said that."

"Well, but who drugged him?" Rocky asked. "Should we go around like before? I did not…"

"Oh, don't bother," Juliet interrupted. "I did it."

That one surprised me. "What?"

"I drugged him," she repeated. "Several times."

Lucina held up a note, _Why_?

Juliet shrugged. "Because I thought he was probably the person who smashed up the cafeteria, and I was worried he was going to try to kill someone. And I figured if someone wanted to kill him, well… it might as well be the most expendable person left, right?"

"He was quite vulnerable," Jane mused. "I imagine he'd be easy to lead anywhere, in such a state."

"No one is expendable," Bepi suddenly snapped, harshly. "Everyone who dies here is a tragedy, no matter what." Juliet just smiled blankly back at him.

I heard a tapping noise, and I looked over to see Lucina trying to get everyone's attention (and probably avoid a distracting tangent). She wrote something out quickly and then held up: _He died around 11:15. Katy and I were together then. We have alibis._

"Oh, really?" Jane asked, looking back and forth between them suspiciously. "Where were you?" Lucina started writing, but Jane cut her off, "No! I'm asking Katy. Where were you?"

Katy was staring at Lucina, but she quickly blinked herself back to the present. "Uh…" she stuttered. "My room. In my room."

"Mmm-hmm," Jane grunted. "Is that true, Lucina?"

Lucina held up a message, _Yes. We were in her room, together._

I realized I was nervously holding my breath every time Lucina wrote out anything, and I closed my eyes to refocus. I remembered how she had written that lie, _I am afraid of Juliet._ It had surprised me how the machine had turned red when she was done writing, before she'd even shown us the note. I needed to not be a nervous wreck, terrified to see that red light, every time she wrote anything.

Jane glared at them and then sighed. "All right, well, does anyone else have an alibi? If so, please raise your hand and then state it clearly."

Rocky's hand went up hesitantly. "Uh… I was alone, but I was making music out in the middle of the quad. People must've been able to see and hear me from the dorm."

That did make sense to me. "I did hear the music pretty consistently after it got dark," I said. No one else spoke up, so I asked a question he'd reminded me of: "Rocky, you were in the quad all night until the murder, right?"

"Um, yeah." Red lights went off around him and he jumped, startled. "What? But I was!" Red lights flashed again. "I'm not lying!" Red lights.

"Hey, calm down," Bepi said, not unkindly. "Listen, this thing cares a lot about technicalities. Think if you were really in the quad all night."

Rocky scratched his head. "Um, I did go in the dorm to take a piss at like 11:30?" His lights stayed blue. "Ohhh," he said, "right. So no, I left to go take a piss, but that's all."

"Did you see anyone while you were in the quad?" I asked.

"Yeah," he answered. "You and Juliet, around 1:00. And before that, maybe around 10:30, I saw Jane go from the dorm to the gym."

Jane raised an eyebrow. "I'm doing weight training," she explained.

"Yeah, but I never saw you come out," Rocky said.

"Oh, how can that possibly be?" Jane asked, rolling her eyes. "I used the underground tunnel, darling."

I frowned but looked back to Rocky. "Was there anyone else?"

He rubbed his chin in thought. "Maaayyyyybe I saw a couple people walking around in the shadows at the edge of the quad? But I'm not sure."

"Could someone have gotten from the dorm to the South Quad without you seeing them?" I asked.

"I dunno." He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Huh, that's a good question. Could I have seen anyone? I…" His eyes widened and he suddenly shouted. "Agh! No! Yes! I don't know!" His light turned red, and he relaxed, panting. "What the hell just happened?"

Jane smirked at him; ideally she was not amused by the mere existence of his pain, but I couldn't rule it out. "You asked yourself a yes/no question. You should probably not do that."

"Ughhh, this thing sucks!" Rocky groaned. "I didn't think I lie all that much, either." He shook his head, refocusing. "Uh, anyway, Saya, what were you asking me? If I could see anyone in the quad?"

I thought to be sneaky, to say that no, I was talking about something else, but I realized the machine would count that as a lie. So I just said, "Yes. I think the killer… and probably Barrett himself… had to get into the South Quad tonight, and the only path is through the main quad. But it was pretty dark around the edges, so it'd be easy to sneak by."

He shrugged. "Probably?"

"What about the murder weapon?" Katy asked suddenly, sounding nervous. "Does anyone know what it could have been?"

"It was a table leg, according to the message we got," Juliet answered.

"I think it was from the computer lab," Bepi clarified. "Someone must have sharpened the end into a point, though."

"Was that the full weapon?" Rodrigo asked. "There was a confusing set of machinery at the murder scene, was there not?"

"Oh shit, booby traps!" Rocky yelped. "Booby traps, booby traps!"

"Ugh, stop saying 'booby,'" Jane muttered. "Someone less annoying: what on earth is he talking about?"

"There was a trap out in the South Quad tonight," I answered. "Rocky set off a trip wire, and then some kind of weird, amateur-looking machine launched off a pizza tray, which… I guess could have been intended as a weapon?"

"It was a very shitty booby trap, if it was a booby trap," Juliet piped up.

"Yeah, but maybe the killer made a good one!" Rocky said. "That coulda worked, right? Barrett walks in and sets off the trap, and kapow, table leg through the eyeball!"

"It'd be a very lucky shot, but I guess that's possible," I replied. "Who could make something like that?"

"I probably could," Bepi said. "I've done improvised weapons before. Uh, let me say very clearly though: I did not have anything to do with Barrett dying."

"I'd like to think anyone could construct a simple machine," Jane remarked, "but I suspect most of you could not. Needless to say, I could make an excellent murder trap. But I did not make anything involved in this murder."

Lucina tore off a message and held it up, _I don't know anything at all about traps. But why would the killer have a bad one and then one that works so well?_

"Misdirection?" Katy suggested. "Or maybe the one outside was supposed to just make a loud noise to be a warning."

"Wait," Juliet said, glaring starkly at Lucina. "Someone made those traps, and we shouldn't just move on past figuring out who. Giuseppe and Jane already answered, so let's keep that going." She primly placed her hands behind her back. "I can make booby traps, but I didn't make the ones that were in the South Quad tonight." She looked at Lucina expectantly.

Without once looking down at her lap to the paper she was writing on, Lucina wrote her response and thrust it out at Juliet: _I've never made a trap or anything like those machines in the quad in my life._

I spoke up next. "Um, me too. I didn't make those traps, and I couldn't if I wanted to."

"I am trained in the art of building simple machinery," Rodrigo announced, "but I have never actually done so."

"Uh, yeah," Rocky said. "I can't change a tire, much less make the machines I saw tonight."

Katy still sounded odd and hesitant; I couldn't really put my finger on what was going on with her. "I didn't make any traps, and I don't know how to."

Jane raised an eyebrow. "Well," she mused. "Again, our killer has somehow outsmarted the machine."

"Maybe Barrett made them?" Rocky suggested.

"I don't think so," Bepi said. "It'd take more concentration than he probably could have been using."

There was a short pause, but before we could pursue anything further, Monokuma stomped his foot.

"You're almost out of time!" he yipped. "Make the most of it!"

"Aaa!" Rocky screeched, pressing his hands against the mechanism on his head. "What do we do? We still haven't solved the murder!"

Feeling myself literally sweating in the autumn coolness, I quickly mentioned the other thing I didn't understand. "There's one other thing," I pointed out. "There was a cube that said it had a secret weapon inside it, and earlier today, someone got in."

"Ay, it's true," Rodrigo spoke up. "But friend Saya, you told me you thought the weapon was electronic in nature, and there does not appear to be anything electronic used in Friend Barrett's death."

"Is that the thing you needed to hurt yourself to get?" Rocky asked me.

I felt the pain in my head again, so I quickly said, "Yeah."

"I attempted to retrieve the foul weapon earlier tonight," Rodrigo added. "Sadly, I failed."

"I can confirm that," I said. "I heard him yelling about it across the quad." I got a red light, and I cringed. "Okay, it wasn't across the quad. I was closer than that. But that pain did make him yell pretty loudly."

"Ay," Rodrigo said seriously. "Twas terrible agony; even one trained to withstand torture could not help shouting to the heavens! But I was hopeful I could withstand it."

"What's it even matter?," Juliet argued. "I doubt the mysterious secret weapon was a table leg from the computer lab or a weird, improvised booby trap."

I frowned. She was right, of course. But what could the secret weapon possibly be? What kind of thing would be a useful weapon, with a student stores that sold cheap machetes? What would a killer especially need now, here?

I froze. I suddenly realized it: I knew what the weapon was. My mouth fell open in horror.

"Ten seconds!" Monokuma suddenly bellowed.

My eyes widened, but I couldn't think of anything to say. Luckily, Jane's voice called out, "Before finding his body, I hadn't seen or heard Barrett since yesterday! Everyone else say when you last saw him alive or it'll be suspicious!"

But she hadn't fully thought it through, because the response was a clamoring mess of everyone talking at once. I managed to see the note Lucina held up: _I haven't seen him since last evening_. And I caught Bepi say 'today,' Katy say 'didn't see him,' and Rocky say what I think was 'yesterday.' Juliet didn't say anything.

I didn't hear what Rodrigo said, but a second after he finished speaking, his light flashed red.

"Time's up!" Monokuma shouted. "Time for the trial, you brats! Head to the monolith, post-haste!" He switched off the machine and jumped away, disappearing.

"Uh, Roddy, what did you say just now that was a lie?" Rocky asked.

"I did not lie!" Rodrigo yelped, horrified. "I merely said I saw Friend Barrett alive this morning, which is the truth!"

I wasn't sure what to think. I glanced down at my lap and saw the blank personality paper there: I hadn't taken any notes. I suddenly had an idea.

Jane glared at Rodrigo, but then she sighed and started disconnecting herself from the machine. "Well, no point now." She raised an eyebrow at me. "I hope you got what you needed, Miss Marple."

I had already taken my stuff off, and I think I surprised her by marching right over to her. "Not quite," I said. I leaned in. "Please do me a favor, for the investigation?"

She pulled back, apparently startled I'd gotten so close. "Um. Yes, dear, what can I do?"

"On the way back, please go into the module where we found Barrett. Take one of the personality tests and, as fast as you can, fill it out randomly. Then, press the paper against Barrett's hand, and slide it into the slot."

"…Why?"

"No time; I'll tell you later. Take someone with you, it doesn't matter who. Just so you'll have another witness to back you up."

I started to turn, but she spoke up. "No, I mean… why me? You don't… trust me, do you?"

"Of course I do, you're my friend." And I turned away before she had a chance to talk back.

I went to find Bepi. I had wanted to ask him to do me a favor too, but he was a step ahead of me. "Hey, I got everyone's papers to see if they took notes. I wanted to look them over in case I missed something."

I smiled gratefully. "That's exactly what I was going to ask you for."

 **SOUTH QUAD**

As we walked, he showed me the papers he had collected. I couldn't see who had been taking notes during the session, but it looked like the only people were Rocky, Katy, Rodrigo, and Bepi himself.

"That's a good mix of perspectives," I said.

He just shrugged. "I glanced them over, but I didn't see anything I'd forgotten about. I'm not a bad-ass chess genius, though." He held up a finger.

I almost broke into a coughing fit from the compliment, but I successfully kept it together.

"Did anyone not want you to see what they wrote?" I asked.

He paused, kind of oddly. "Um. Katy, maybe? But don't read too much into that, she's pretty stressed.

I raised an eyebrow at him, but I didn't have time to think about it. I glanced over the notes, trying to remember every detail of the session as I did.

* * *

Rocky's paper was… not very well organized.

 _everyone's innocent_

 _suicide—don't forget could be suicide_

 _JULIET DRUGGED HIM_

 _Luce has alibi thank god_

 _BOOBY TRAP holy shit BOOBY TRAP_

 _booby trap boobie trap booby or boobie_

 _boobie looks weird it's booby_

 _now they both look weird_

 _It's someone smart enough to trick the machine. But everyone here is smart! Katy writes, good with words. don't forget_ _SAYA_

 _saya or katy_

 _not Roddy._

* * *

Rodrigo's notes were much more detailed, thankfully.

 _S: No.  
G: I did not kill Barrett.  
L: I didn't do it either (written)  
K: I didn't kill him.  
J: I killed Barrett. (lie)  
J: I did not kill Barrett Wood.  
R: Me neither._

 _No obvious loophole._

 _L is less reticent than usual… protecting K._

 _L: He died around 11:15. Katy and I were together then. We have alibis.  
K: My room. In my room.  
L: Yes. We were in her room, together._

 _I see no loophole. Love -_ _honor NOT temptation. Remember: thank god in prayers for classmates' good hearts_

 _J: I can make booby traps, but I didn't make the ones that were in the South Quad tonight.  
L: I've never made a trap or anything like those machines in the quad in my life.  
S: Me too. I didn't make those traps, and I couldn't if I wanted to.  
R: I can't change a tire, much less make the machines I saw tonight.  
K: I didn't make any traps, and I don't know how to.  
G: I can make improvised weapons, but I did not have anything to do with Barrett dying. (approximate)  
J: I can make those machines but I didn't make anything involved with Barret's murder. (approximate)_

 _again no clear loophole._

 _follow heart. trust. God gave us reason. I am confident we will find the killer_

* * *

Bepi's was… more esoteric.

 _note pronouns, pronouns can be ambiguous._

 _and helping verbs. language! clarity, machine cares about language, note ambiguity_

 _yes_

 _what is a lie?_

 _statement can conflict with belief. a belief is a thought with a certain amount of confidence._

 _connection to ruined computer lab and cafeteria. Table leg._

 _INDIRECT MURDER_

 _remember how commanders talked remember the double-speak_

 _Juliet is DISTRACTION ignore Juliet_

 _Rocky was in quad_

 _traps_

 _a lie. no red lights._

 _Jane's making everyone say they didn't make the traps—good_

 _truth is confidence. Everything is a 'probably.' were there adverbs?_

 _Rodrigo_

* * *

Katy's was just odd.

 _Giuseppe_ _Saya_ _Lucina_ _Me_ _Juliet_ _Jane_ _Rodrigo_ _Rocky_ (each of these names was crossed out)

 _?_

 _he was drugged!_

 _Lucinq sa_ (this was crossed out too, and there was nothing else written on the page)

* * *

I glanced up at Bepi, the confusion probably showing on my face. "Uh, yeah," he said. "Sorry for the glimpse into my thought process; it's pretty dark in here." He tapped his temple, smiling wanly.

"It's okay," I said. I felt weird, like there was something here staring me in the face but I couldn't see it. "I think… I think I have almost all the information I need. I just haven't put it together yet."

 **MAIN QUAD**

By that time, we arrived at the monolith in the main quad. Monokuma stood, impatiently barking things I stopped even listening to. We were going to get on the elevator, go down, and do it again. We would have to… and for the first time, something hit me emotionally about this whole thing. We were going to go kill someone. We were going to take someone out of the world, and everything they could have done or been was just going to turn to nothing.

A hand touched my shoulder, and I jumped in shock (despite my sadness, I was apparently still so neurotic that I could switch over to fright pretty easily). Jane stood there, unsuccessfully trying to look blasé.

"I did your stupid thing," she grunted. "Monk-man came with me. I put the thing in the slot like you asked. Dare I even ask what the point was?"

"Uh. What did the computer say? After you put the test in the slot?"

"Oh, the same thing it says every time," she answered. "Incorrect personality."

I took a deep breath. "Okay," I said. "Thanks."

She rolled her eyes and strolled over to the elevator. I followed her; we all stood huddled close together, trying to make the place seem more crowded than it was.

For some reason, the only thing I could look at during the elevator's descent was Juliet's face. Her mouth was in a smug grin, but her eyes looked… she looked like she was grieving. I tried not to think about why.

"If it helps, as one or more of us descend to our deaths, I think good ol' Therion is looking down on us and smiling," she said. "We just saw the impossible: someone killed him, but a perfect lie detector said we were all telling the truth when we denied it. It's just such a classic murder mystery."

I don't think anyone even had the energy to tell her to shut up. We just rode down in tense silence.

* * *

 _As always, I am pretty sure readers have everything they need to solve the case now. Good luck!_


	35. Seminar on Aging and Adulthood, Part F

I had trouble leaving the elevator. I wasn't sure why. Bepi noticed, and he hung back after everyone else left.

"Scared?" he asked, not without sympathy.

I shook my head. "No. Not exactly." I frowned at him. "Everyone's been treating me like a strong person. Like a leader or... like I'm important."

"Yeah. Because you are."

"I don't like it."

He shrugged. "Well. You did make the wrong choice to have us go to the Cricket. Of course it didn't say any of us were lying."

"Huh?" I raised an eyebrow at him, confused. "What do you mean?"

Well. Because we were all _sitting_."

"Oh christ almighty." I slapped him in the arm and headed out into the hallway. "Come on, you dumbass."

He grinned and followed.

 **TRIAL ROOM**

Monokuma had apparently gotten the courtroom-updater to work again. Instead of the dingy hotel conference room we had last time, now there was a large, warmly lit room, filled ancient-looking relics and shards and pillars... kind of like a cross between a museum and an attic.

He also fixed the trial circle. There were now black-and-white pictures of Ashley (an ugly, dark rectangle painted over her mouth), Earl (tread-marks running across his face), and Nicole (one diagonal line slashed across her picture, and then another short line perpendicular to it, as if someone got distracted partway through drawing an X).

Barrett didn't have a picture. There was just a pile of black ash where his picture should have been.

Juliet snatched the Cricket notes from me as we walked to our places; I didn't find myself mustering much energy toward stopping her. Instead, I actually caught myself thinking, "Good, then she'll be able to help."

I didn't mean that she would help with figuring out who committed the murder. I didn't know what I meant at the time. I know now.

Monokuma stomped his little foot in irritation. "Hey, what's with all you gloomy kids?!" he barked. "This is the fifth truly great murder in a row! Sure, we already had a stabbing, but this time it was through the victim's eye! I always appreciate a murderer who keeps things fresh."

None of us said anything; we just looked up at him, dreary and cold and anxious.

"Gaugh!" He waved his paws around. "Come on, this is the best semester of students in years, and you're all mopey!" He sighed. "C'mon, Miss Edwards, say something offensive! Mr. Diaz, don't you want to say something hopeful and naive? Miss..."

"We're here for Barrett," Bepi interrupted, pointedly not looking at the bear. "He was hard to get along with, and he was dangerous. Saya and Rodrigo tell me he was trying to be a better person, and I believe them, but that doesn't matter. He was one of us. We had a duty to keep him alive, just like the rest of us, and we failed him. None of us can ever make that up." He looked straight at me for a moment, then kept looking around the rest of the circle. "We'll do the least we can do, and that's get justice by exposing his killer. Agreed?"

I found myself nodding, but a scoff to my left drew my attention. Jane was rolling her eyes. "Do you really believe that?"

Bepi stared back at her. "Unfortunately, yes. I do."

"Then you're an idiot."

Bepi nodded. "Unfortunately, yes. I am."

Jane grunted in annoyance. "Certainly I agree we must find his killer. But look at all of you. You're a mess."

"And you're not?" Rocky asked.

"Becoming less of a mess by the second, darling." Jane put a hand on her chin in a performative gesture of thoughtfulness. "I had been trying to force myself to care about his death, but that's foolish. I have dedicated myself to discovery and healing. Barrett dedicated himself to confusion and destruction. Perhaps..." She paused, then straightened herself up to full height. "Perhaps I am just a terrible person, but I aim to survive this place, and I refuse to be distracted with feigned sympathy for other terrible people."

Bepi looked back at her blankly. "Do what you want, I guess."

"I will." Jane looked around the circle, haughty and sexy. "If you're motivated by duty and guilt, wonderful. Just so long as you are motivated."

Monokuma gasped audibly. "Miss Edwards, are you emerging as a leader, pushing your classmates toward organized action?!"

"Go to hell," Jane said. That sounded like a 'yes' to me.

"I'm with Jane," Katy said hesitantly. "Maybe some of you have really noble reasons like justice or duty. But I just want to protect my friends and my... my girlfriend. That's my motivation."

"I wanna make more music," Rocky spoke up. "I dunno if that's selfish or not, but it's what I got." He paused and took a deep breath. "...You with me, Roddy?" he asked, glancing shyly at the paladin.

Rodrigo just nodded. "Our fallen comrades deserve for us to finish our funeral dirge."

Juliet chortled. "I just want to prove I'm smarter than everyone else around me," she mused blithely, then she paused. "Oh wait. That's Saya."

I glared up at her and prepared to snap out a denial, but Katy's voice interrupted me. "Good!" She sounded snide and defiant. "Because she _is_ the smartest. And you know it, and the mastermind knows it too, and she's on _our_ side!"

"Uggghhh I'm sorry I ever encouraged this!" Monokuma groaned. "Stop this nauseating display of socialism! This is not about teamwork, this is about proving your dominance in the natural hierarchy I've created here! The victim is Barrett Wood: find his killer or die! Go!"

Luckily, Bepi took the reins, willing to lead things along. "Fine. We have a killer who's done the impossible: they somehow committed murder without being caught by the Cricket."

"But that's impossible!" Rocky bellowed.

"Ugh, don't be an idiot," Jane snapped, rolling her eyes. "It happened, so it's not impossible."

"Gah, that makes my head hurt!" Rocky grunted. "Impossible or not, whatever! The point is, we didn't get anything out of the Cricket, and we barely investigated anything else! How are we gonna do this?"

"I think we just have to shift the way we look at this case," I suggested. "The other murders... they were about deducing how the crime was committed. This is different. Here, we have to deduce how the killer got away with lying to the machine. If we can identify that, we can identify the culprit."

"I understand, but I do not know how we can accomplish such a thing!" Rodrigo said. "We know nothing about the murder itself!"

Lucina held up a note. _That's not true. We know what killed him and when. Monokuma's email, remember?_

* * *

 _The deceased is Barrett Wood, the Ultimate Demolitionist. Time of death: approximately 11:15pm. Cause of death: Impalement through the eye with a metal table leg._

* * *

"That's right!" Katy agreed. "And we know where he died, too! In the Secret Information cube, with the personality test."

"Whoa, hold on," Jane said, holding up a hand. "Just because we found him there, that doesn't mean he was killed there."

"Yes, it does," I replied. "Remember the state of the crime scene?"

* * *

 _Blood was all over this room and the next room, but I remembered there hadn't been anything outside._

* * *

"He bled all over the place, but only inside the cube. If he'd been killed somewhere else and taken to that cube, there wouldn't be so much blood inside, and we'd probably have found some outside."

"Ugh," Katy muttered, looking queasy. "Yeah. That makes sense. And the cube is pretty private, especially that secret room. And with the state Barrett was in, he'd be easy to lure away."

* * *

 _No other injuries are present on the body, but he had high levels of valium and oxycontin in his system at time of death._

* * *

"You're welcome," Juliet said.

"So... please, let me think through what we know of this vile deed," Rodrigo said, thankfully not letting Juliet derail us. "Barrett was killed inside the secret information module at 11:15. That means the killer had to be there, too!"

"Whoa, slow down," Bepi said. "There was something else at the crime scene too, remember?"

* * *

 _And Barrett… Barrett just sat against the wall, as if he was relaxing. Across from him was an odd, pieced-together contraption, like the one I'd seen outside, which had launched the pizza tray._

* * *

"A trap!"

"Oh, shit," Rocky replied, frowning. "So the killer didn't have to be there at all! They could have gotten in earlier, set up the trap, and later sent Barrett to his doom!"

"Well, actually, maybe they didn't!" Jane spoke up. "We all know Barrett liked to wander aimlessly. Perhaps the killer didn't mean to target him. Maybe it was for someone else."

It's not like it hadn't occurred to me before that, but I suddenly could feel that note I'd gotten on my floor burning in my memory. I didn't want to mention it, not yet (and not ever, if I could get away with it), but unfortunately, Juliet had other ideas.

"Oh?" She grinned like an ogre. "Hm! I seem to remember some evidence suggesting someone else might have been the target after all! Isn't that right, Chessmistress?"

Without even thinking about it, I tilted my head and gazed at her blankly. "What? I don't know what you're talking about."

For a split-second, I saw something I'd never seen before: Juliet looking surprised. She quickly recovered and laughed. "Silly me, silly me. Always making things up." Rocky, thankfully, did not seem to know what we were talking about.

"Ugh," Jane mumbled, squeezing the ridge between her eyes. "So, the killer might or might not have been targeting him, and might or might not have even been there when he died. Is this what we have?"

"Hey, and that's not even mentioning crazy stuff like the shitty trap outside, or the goddamn weird murder weapon! Why a table leg?"

"I think we just don't know enough," Bepi agreed, "But it's a good start. We know when, where, and how he died. I think that's enough to move on to the Cricket. Like Saya said, that's the heart of the mystery."

"But the Cricket didn't help!" Rocky argued. "We all said we didn't do it, like, outright! One after another! Remember?"

* * *

 _Saya: No._  
 _Bepi: I did not kill Barrett._  
 _Lucina: I didn't do it either_  
 _Katy: I didn't kill him._  
 _Juliet: I killed Barrett. (lie)_  
 _Jane: I did not kill Barrett Wood.  
_ _Rodrigo:_ _I did not and would not kill Friend Barrett._ _  
_ _Rocky: Me neither._

* * *

"That's as blatant as it gets!"

"There was something else," Bepi said. "We also all went around and denied something else. It's the only other time we all made the same statement, so we should specifically remember it, too."

* * *

 _Giuseppe:_ _I've done improvised weapons before. Uh, let me say very clearly though: I did not have anything to do with Barrett dying.  
_ _Jane: Needless to say, I could make an excellent murder trap. But I did not make anything involved in this murder.  
_ _Juliet: I can make booby traps, but I didn't make the ones that were in the South Quad tonight._  
 _Lucina: I've never made a trap or anything like those machines in the quad in my life._  
 _Saya: Me too. I didn't make those traps, and I couldn't if I wanted to.  
_ _Rodrigo:_ _I am trained in the art of building simple machinery, but I have never actually done so._ _  
_ _Rocky: I can't change a tire, much less make the machines I saw tonight._  
 _Katy: I didn't make any traps, and I don't know how to._

* * *

"There has to be something somewhere in there," Bepi said.

Rocky pressed his palms against his head in distress. "I don't get it! This doesn't tell us who the killer is!"

"You're right," I replied. "But that actually helps us narrow things down. Jane said it before." I nodded to the scientist. "It happened, even though it seems impossible. So we have to figure out why."

"'Why' is stupid!" Rocky grunted. "The stupid machine didn't work!"

"Oh please, use what little brain you have," Jane sniped. "Of course the machine was generally working; you felt the pain it generated yourself. But, it is possible it wasn't working for the killer _._ "

"But how?!" Rodrigo wailed.

Jane shrugged. " We're just listing logically consistent possibilities right now, darling."

"Maybe... the trap thing had something to do with it?" Katy said hesitantly. "Maybe if a trap killed Barrett, the killer could deny they did it themselves, and it wouldn't count as a lie?"

Lucina nodded, holding up a third option: _The Cricket was sensitive to the way we worded things. The killer could have been sneaky somehow._

"And I guess... maybe we were all telling the truth?" Bepi ventured. "If Barrett killed himself, then of course we wouldn't get caught as lying."

"Yeah... yeah, those are the four general possibilities I can think of," I said. "1. The killer was somehow immune to the machine working on them. 2. There was something about the murder that allowed the killer to deny responsibility without lying. 3. There was something about the killer's wording that allowed them to appear to claim innocence without really doing so. Or 4. Everyone actually was telling the truth."

"Wait a moment," Rodrigo said, holding up his index finger. "We all denied being the mastermind earlier, and yet one of us must be! The machine must not work on whoever the foul traitor is, to keep them from being exposed!"

"Hey," Katy spoke up. "We don't know any of us is the mastermind..."

"Rodrigo's theory makes sense, though," Bepi mused. He glanced up at Monokuma. "Hey, Bear! What about it? Is the mastermind able to lie in the Cricket, or what?"

"Mastermind?" Monokuma scratched the side of his head in confusion. "Why are you talking about the mastermind? This isn't the final exam! Listen, the mastermind doesn't have a darn thing to do with this case! You're barking up a forest full of wrong trees, if that's what you're thinking!"

"Hmm." Jane grunted, glowering. "...All right, let's accept what he's saying, for now. If it's not mastermind-immunity, then Saya's Option #1 can't be true, right?"

I glanced at Bepi. He'd mentioned in his notes that he'd observed someone getting away with a lie, and I could infer about when it happened based on where on the page he'd written it. But for some reason, he didn't want to speak up.

* * *

 _Rocky was in quad  
_ _traps_

 _a lie.  
no red lights._

 _Juliet's making everyone say they didn't make the traps—good_

* * *

Was he doubting himself? Or maybe he was sitting on his suspicion to draw someone out? I couldn't figure it out... but then again, I was still convincing myself I didn't know who'd committed the murder.

"I'm not sure of that," I said. "I remember having the intuition that there was a lie, but it was just a feeling."

Rodrigo nodded. "I agree. It was nothing I could pinpoint."

Jane glowered suspiciously, but she tapped her chin in thought. "Hm. Do either of you know when you got these mysterious 'feelings?'"

"Uh." I giggled nervously. "Maybe... when we were talking about traps? But it was before Juliet made us all go back around and say we didn't make them."

"H-hold on, this doesn't make sense!" Katy spoke up. "How could someone just lie and get away with it? That's the whole point of the machine!"

I glanced at her, she was noticeably sweating and maybe even trembling some, too. I shrugged. "Yeah, maybe you're right. How could someone just magically become an exception to the Cricket?"

"Yeah!" Katy agreed, slapping a palm against her lectern. "It's ridiculous!"

"It's gotta be ridiculous," I said, shaking my head. "Because it's just too terrifying to think about. God, can you imagine? The killer knows they're going to have to be in a sci-fi, perfect lie detector. If they actually got some way to lie in the Cricket... it'd give them a huge advantage in the game. It'd be the perfect tool, for getting away with a murder, here."

Katy gaped at me and sputtered a bit, unsure if she should agree or argue. Luckily, Bepi picked up on what I was putting down. "Perfect tool..."

Jane nodded grimly. "Secret weapon."

"Oh, my," Juliet chirped, grinning. "Are you suggesting that the mysterious secret weapon wasn't an actual weapon, but instead a device that interferes with the Cricket?"

"Ay, that makes perfect sense!" Rodrigo agreed enthusiastically. "Do you recall, Friend Saya?"

* * *

 _The room was small and almost totally empty. There was a large sign on the wall saying_ ** _HELP YOURSELF TO THIS SECRET WEAPON_** _! and an arrow pointing to a table. The table contained nothing but a small device with a slot in it… like some kind of cradle or charger._

* * *

"The weapon was small and electronic in nature! It'd be easy to conceal while sitting in the Cricket, and a modern device is a perfect weapon against a modern device!"

Katy held up her hand. "Hey... hey, everyone, this is kind of far-fetched, isn't it? I mean... I mean, we're trying to be detectives, and doesn't that mean not jumping to a bunch of conclusions? We don't know anything about the secret weapon for sure!"

"Perhaps," Jane replied. "But now we know a possible, though perhaps outlandish, reason why someone could be able to lie. So, I wish to return to the previous point: Saya and Rodrigo believe a lie occurred. When was it?"

"Uh, sometime when we were talking about traps," I said, glancing again at Bepi, who didn't look back.

"Ah, yes." Jane nodded. "Then, let's recall as clearly as possible that period of the conversation and see if a lie reveals itself."

* * *

 _"_ _Oh shit, booby traps!" Rocky yelped. "Booby traps, booby traps!"_

 _"_ _Ugh, stop saying 'booby,'" Jane muttered. "Someone less annoying: what on earth is he talking about?"_

 _"_ _There was a trap out in the South Quad tonight," I answered. "Rocky set off a trip wire, and then some kind of weird, amateur-looking machine launched off a pizza tray, which… I guess could have been intended as a weapon?"_

 _"_ _It was a very shitty booby trap, if it was a booby trap," Juliet piped up._

 _"_ _Yeah, but maybe the killer made a good one!" Rocky said. "That coulda worked, right? Barrett walks in and sets off the trap, and kapow, table leg through the eyeball!"_

 _"_ _It'd be a very lucky shot, but I guess that's possible," I replied. "Who could make something like that?"_

 _"_ _I probably could," Bepi said. "I've done improvised weapons before. Uh, let me say very clearly though: I did not have anything to do with Barrett dying."_

 _"_ _I'd like to think anyone could construct a simple machine," Jane remarked, "but I suspect most of you could not. Needless to say, I could make an excellent murder trap. But I did not make anything involved in this murder."_

 _Lucina tore off a message and held it up,_ _I don't know anything at all about traps. But why would the killer have a bad one and then one that works so well?_

 _"_ _Misdirection?" Katy suggested. "Or maybe the one outside was supposed to just make a loud noise to be a warning."_

 _"_ _Wait," Juliet said, glaring starkly at Lucina. "Someone made those traps, and we shouldn't just move on past figuring out who. Giuseppe and Jane already answered, so let's keep that going." She primly placed her hands behind her back. "I can make booby traps, but I didn't make the ones that were in the South Quad tonight." She looked at Lucina expectantly._

* * *

I didn't notice a lie. Well, I did, but I didn't. I started to speak, but my voice died in my throat, and I just stood.

Bepi finally, finally took pity on me. "I think I know what Rodrigo and Saya noticed."

Katy shook her head. "What? No way! No one even said anything that was, like, a fact..." She trailed off and then looked back up. "...Except Bepi and Jane. When they denied making the traps."

Jane regarded her coolly. "Are you making an accusation, darling?"

"N...no! I'm just saying, unless Bepi's solved the case, or he did it himself, then there's no way he really caught a lie. He must be wrong."

Bepi stared at her, then he sighed. "Let's take a step back, all right? Let's think about the machine. How does the machine work? It shines a red light whenever someone lies, but let's all remember what that means."

* * *

 _Rocky scratched the side of his head. "Uh... it only counts as a lie when you say something that you know isn't true, right?"_

 _"I'm still not convinced anyone's in the clear," Jane said. "There's probably stupid word games you can play. Let's try to figure out the actual rules of this machine. She glanced at Rocky. "DJ, will you do me a favor, darling? Please say, out loud, that the capital of Ghana is Monrovia."_

 _"Uh, ok. The capital of Ghana is Monrovia." His lights stayed blue._

 _"Ah." Jane nodded smartly. "The capital of Ghana is Monrovia." Red light._

 _"Uh... what happened?" Rocky asked._

 _"I demonstrated an important feature of this apparatus," she explained. "It doesn't just turn red when we say something that isn't factually true. It turns red when we say something that we_ _know_ _isn't factually true. Rocky K didn't know the capital of Ghana, because of course he didn't, and so it wasn't a lie when he got it wrong."_

* * *

"Indeed," Jane agreed. "The machine is quite annoying about it, too. Remember when Saya got a red light, earlier tonight?"

* * *

 _"_ _I attempted to retrieve the foul weapon earlier," Rodrigo added. "Sadly, I failed."_

 _"_ _I can confirm that," I said. "I heard him yelling about it across the quad." I got a red light, and I cringed. "Okay, it wasn't across the quad. I was closer than that. But that pain did make him yell pretty loudly."_

* * *

Jane shook her head in annoyance. "There is nothing worse than pedantic technology. Why, it counted sarcasm and figures of speech as..." She trailed off, then grinned up at Bepi. "Oh. Oh yes, darling, I see what you meant, now. There was a lie, wasn't there?"

"What?!" Katy bellowed. "Come on, this is..."

"Katy," Juliet interrupted, quietly but so icily Katy did indeed stop. "Give it up. We caught her."

* * *

 _Lucina tore off a message and held it up,_ _I don't know anything at all about traps. But why would the killer have a bad one and then one that works so well?_

* * *

"Live by hyperbole, die by hyperbole," Jane commented. "It simply beggars belief, darling, that even someone with as paltry an education as you knows nothing at all about traps."

"If you knew nothing about them, you wouldn't even be able to use the word 'traps' in a sentence," Bepi added.

Lucina didn't reply. She stared back, no expression on her face.

"No!" Katy yelped. "It... it was just because she wasn't talking! That's all. She was just writing!"

"Ugh," Jane grunted. "Please try harder, darling. We all saw how that doesn't matter."

* * *

 _Hesitantly, Lucina nodded. She glanced down, her sharpie whirring over her note card, and before she was even done writing, her lights turned red. She held up her message,_ _I am afraid of Juliet._

* * *

"No!" Katy argued. "Come on... Saya?" She looked at me imploringly. "Saya, please, you don't think Lucina did it, do you?"

Before I could answer, Rodrigo spoke up. "I hate to imagine Friend Lucina as deceiving us, but there is another element that points to her guilt. Please remember that whoever obtained the secret weapon did so when Friend Saya and I were nearby."

Bepi squinted at him. "Yeah? So what?"

"Please recall what was necessary to obtain that access," Rodrigo answered. "I know it well, myself. One had to withstand great agony."

Juliet smirked. "Ah. Lucina would be quite used to that, wouldn't she? From all the... things she's gone through."

Lucina glared, but Rodrigo held up a hand. "Ah, that is not what I meant."

* * *

 _"_ _Ay," Rodrigo said seriously. "Twas terrible agony; even one trained to withstand torture could not help shouting to the heavens! But I was hopeful I could withstand it."_

* * *

"Perhaps a number of us here would be able to bear the pain. But only one of us would have been able to bear the pain... silently."

Katy struggled to reply, but Lucina was just coolly wrote out a response and held it up. _You've all just made up your minds? There's no real proof._

"That's because you haven't given it to us, yet," Juliet replied, grinning. "I noticed there was something different about you, tonight. Now I think I know why."

* * *

 _Lucina and Katy huddled together, and I found myself just grateful they each had someone to comfort them. Lucina's hair wasn't in her usual ponytail; it draped over her shoulders, held in place with a headband, and I allowed myself just a moment to appreciate her loveliness._

* * *

"If you would, please remove your headband and show us the device it's holding in place." Juliet was clearly delighted to put Lucina on the spot like this. "That'll be sufficient proof, won't it?"

Lucina glowered. Katy started to argue again, but Lucina cut her off with some signing that was so sharp, I could almost hear it.

Staring firmly at Juliet, Lucina reached up and pulled her headband off, and with her other hand, she pulled a small device out of her hair. It was blinking and very modern-looking.

"Is that... the secret weapon?" Rocky asked. Lucina gave a single nod, then she carefully replaced the hairband and tossed the small device to the floor.

"It... it doesn't matter!" Katy argued. "She didn't do it! Because... because remember? She has an alibi! Even if she could lie, I couldn't, and we both confirmed it!"

"False," Jane snapped. "I recall the exchange, and you were careful about your wording, weren't you?"

* * *

 _I heard a tapping noise, and I looked over to see Lucina trying to get everyone's attention (and probably avoid a distracting tangent). She wrote something out quickly and then held up:_ _He died around 11:15. Katy and I were together then. We have alibis._

 _"_ _Oh, really?" Jane asked, looking back and forth between them suspiciously. "Where were you?" Lucina started writing, but Jane cut her off, "No! I'm asking Katy. Where were you?"_

 _Katy was staring at Lucina, but she quickly blinked herself back to the present. "Uh…" she stuttered. "My room. In my room."_

 _"_ _Mmm-hmm," Jane grunted. "Is that true, Lucina?"_

 _Lucina held up a message,_ _Yes. We were in her room, together._

* * *

"Lucina explicitly said you were BOTH in your room," Jane continued. "But you just said 'in my room.' You were just referring to yourself alone."

Rocky stared back and forth between Katy and Lucina. "I don't... I don't know if I get it. But I guess it's possible they could have worked out a plan."

"Indeed," Jane agreed. "I'm sure they planned for this exact contingency."

"Um... I don't think so," I said. "I don't have evidence about this, but I don't think Katy knew. Remember? As soon as Lucina said they had alibis, Katy got weird. And in her notes, she stopped writing really early, right when Lucina brought it up." I stared down at her, trying to be intimidating. "You didn't know, did you?"

"I... didn't..." Katy said, trailing off. Lucina caught her gaze and signed something something, a tender smile on her face. I was grateful to not be feeling anything right at that moment.

Lucina held up a note. _Katy didn't know._

Jane crossed her arms over her chest and huffed. "So. You're admitting to killing him alone, then?"

Lucina gaped at her in horror, then held up a new message, _No!_ She quickly scribbled out another one. _I used the weapon to protect me and Katy. Juliet could have twisted our words all around, and I refuse to be at her mercy._

Juliet emitted a short, offended laugh, but I spoke up. "Um, whether she used the weapon or not, I know Lucina didn't do it."

Everyone stared at me, which somehow caused my cheeks to redden even though I didn't actually feel any embarrassment. Jane clucked at me. "Oh, please, Saya. You're hardly objective on this matter."

"Um... maybe. But I have evidence." I tried not to look at Lucina or Katy as I continued. "I asked Jane to check something for me on the way to the trial. Jane, could you report what you found?"

She blinked in surprise. "Well. Yes. She asked me to press a personality test against Barrett's palm and then insert it into the slot."

* * *

 _"_ _I did your stupid thing," she grunted. "Monk-man came with me. I put the thing in the slot like you asked. Dare I even ask what the point was?"_

 _"_ _Uh. What did the computer say? After you put the test in the slot?"_

 _"_ _Oh, the same thing it says every time," she answered. "Incorrect personality."_

* * *

Rocky scratched the back of his head. "Uh. So what?"

"You only got one chance to get through the door, remember?" I nodded smartly to him. "If you tried a second time, you got a message that said 'familiar fingerprint detected.'"

"Oh," Bepi said gruffly. "I understand now. So this establishes that Barrett's personality test was not the one that opened the door. And since it wasn't his, it almost certainly was the killer."

"Yeah!" I agreed. "And I know Lucina wasn't the one who got through the door, either. Because I saw her fail."

* * *

 _But, familiarly, the screen just displayed_ ** _INCORRECT PERSONALITY_** _. Lucina just shrugged and held up a note that said_ _Rats_ _._

* * *

"Yes!" Katy declared, stomping her foot. "See? I told you it couldn't be her!"

Lucina held up a note. _I'm escaping this place, but not alone. I won't leave without Katy. OR my friends._

"That's right," Katy agreed, nodding. "It'd be really sweet and romantic for one of us to sacrifice our life for the other, but not from committing murder!"

I wasn't able to say anything for a moment after she said that, but luckily, Bepi picked up the momentum. "So, are we right back where we started? Because there's another thing I want to focus on." He gazed coolly at the paladin standing across from him. "Rodrigo, I'm not accusing you of anything but you got buzzed by the machine at the end there, and we have to know more."

Pale, Rodrigo held up both hands. "But I know not what happened! I merely said that I saw Friend Barrett alive this morning!"

"Hm." I rubbed my chin in concentration. "Just that? You're sure? You just said that you saw him alive this morning?"

Rodrigo nodded. "Indeed. I am helpless as to how that could be a lie!"

"Um, actually, it's totally not a lie," Rocky said. "I was there."

Bepi raised the eyebrow over his dead eye. "This is all pretty sketchy, dudes."

Something suddenly occurred to me. "Hey, Rodrigo," I said. "I'm gonna ask you something, and you gotta promise to tell the truth, okay?"

He blinked at me, confused. But, "I promise."

"Do you really believe, deep down, that we're definitely going to get out of this trial alive? Do you think it's impossible that we don't find the killer?"

"Guh!" He stepped back, almost acting like he'd been hit. "Of... of course I have trust in God and in my fellow students!"

"Hmm." Jane gave him a side-eye. I don't think she knew what I was up to, but she was willing to go along. "That wasn't what she asked, darling."

"I..." Rodrigo hung his head. "There is doubt in my heart. I cannot deny it. The killer seems to be immune to the very facts of logic! How could I not doubt?"

"Aha." I nodded to Bepi. "Well, there you go. There's your lie."

Bepi squinted. "Uh. Spell it out for us, wouldja?"

"Sure." I gestured to everyone. "I noticed something the first time we were in the Cricket... something I remembered this time."

* * *

 _I realized I was nervously holding my breath every time Lucina wrote out anything, and I closed my eyes to refocus. I remembered how she had written that lie,_ _I am afraid of Juliet._ _It had surprised me how the machine had turned red when she was done writing, before she'd even shown us the note._

* * *

"When Lucina wrote a lie, the machine flagged her as lying just from the act of writing it down. It buzzes you when you make a lie, not when you communicate that lie to other people."

Juliet nodded. "Of course. And our friend Rodrigo, in his notes, finished by writing down a lie."

* * *

 _f_ _ollow heart. trust. God gave us reason. I am confident we will find the killer_

* * *

"The machine buzzed him when he wrote down he was confident we would find the killer, not when he said he saw Barrett this morning. They just happened at about the same time."

"Goddamn it," Bepi grunted. "Everything just leads nowhere."

"Oh, don't be so pessimistic," Juliet chided him. "If everything led nowhere, then how could Saya have figured out who the killer was?"

Everyone kinda froze. I found myself staring at Juliet. "...what? I don't know who the killer is!"

She looked back at me for a beat and then sighed. "Really? You're really doing this? You're going to pull this same trick over and over?"

"I'm not playing a trick!" I argued.

"Every time you get in trouble, you use the same way out," she snapped. "'I don't know.' That's what you always say. 'I don't know anything. I'm harmless and weak.' Ignorance is the costume you always wear, and it is getting kind of ratty by this point."

"I really don't know!" I yelled, feeling myself become oddly upset. "It's staring me right in the face, but I don't see it! I can't!"

Rocky held up his hand. "Uh, whoa, what? What's staring you in the face, Saya?"

"N...nothing!" I snapped. "Juliet's just... she's evil! Don't listen to her!"

"Yes," Juliet said. She stared at me pointedly. Then she looked around the circle at everyone. "Yes," she repeated.

"Ugh, this certainly does have the familiar cadence of a Juliet mind game," Jane remarked. "Should we..."

"Saya," Juliet interrupted. She stared at me with her empty doll eyes. "Are you really not going to do it? Am I going to have to?"

I glared, feeling livid for some reason.

Juliet shook her head, contempt across her face. "Fine." She shrugged at everyone. "I'll tell you all who did it. You may choose not to listen to me, but hear my evidence first."

Rodrigo put his hands on his hips like a sentry. "It would be foolish to expose ourselves to a clever liar's words!"

"Oh, give yourselves some credit," Juliet said breezily. "Remember what Lucina wrote at the last trial? Saya can expose any lies I tell."

I felt something piercing my heart when she said that, but I wasn't sure what.

"I want to hear it," Bepi said. "Something is better than nothing. We're kinda stuck unless she speaks up."

Rodrigo clearly didn't agree, but he nodded. Jane and Rocky nodded too; I didn't look at the other two.

"Wonderful." Juliet said, grinning. "I don't blame any of you for being confused. The killer's lies didn't follow a single pattern. In fact, their two lies couldn't be any more different."

She seemed absolutely delighted with herself, but when she swept her gaze across me, she looked disappointed again, just for a split second. "On one hand," she continued, "the killer exploited clever tricks, a nuanced understanding of the rules of the machine, and subversion of our expectations. "On the other hand..." She shrugged. "...they did the dumbest thing I've ever seen, and it worked."

She paused for a moment. "Do you still, ahem, 'not know,' Saya?"

I stared back at her. "I don't know," I answered. I couldn't think of anything else to say.


	36. Seminar on Aging and Adulthood, Part G

"Hold on," Rocky said. "The killer got away with lying to the machine... because of something dumb? That doesn't make sense."

Juliet just shrugged. "Well, it relates to... let's just say it relates to a talent one of us has demonstrated proficiency in."

"Um, like our special talents?" Katy ventured.

"No. Something different." Juliet sighed, looking annoyed. "Something I didn't think could ever be useful for getting away with murder, but here we are."

Bepi grunted. "I think I know what she's talking about," he said grimly. "And she's right. It is stupid. So let's start with the other lie, okay? The smart one."

"If you insist." Juliet looked right at me. "When you're ready to take the lead, just jump in, will you? I feel desperately uncomfortable in this savior role, and..." She glanced left and right, then leaned in. "...and just between you and me, I don't think anyone here trusts me!"

She glanced at Bepi. "Or... well, you seem to know a lot! Do you want to do it?"

He glared. "No. We're listening."

Juliet chortled. "Fine, fine. So, let's think about the rules of this machine. We've already established some. Jane, dear?" She looked at the geneticist with a slightly submissive expression, blinking dewy eyes over the frames of her glasses. "Please remind us?"

"Uh." Jane was clearly affected by Juliet's act, but she gathered herself quickly. "Indeed. As we've established, the machine lights red when someone lies. A 'lie,' to the machine, is a statement someone knows to be untrue."

"Correct." Juliet was getting into her prim schoolgirl character. "The machine does something else. Something you all... used against me quite a bit. Anyone?"

"It causes terrible pain when one is asked a yes or no question," Rodrigo answered seriously. "The pain does not abate until the question is answered, truthfully or not."

"Correct." Juliet holds up a finger. "Now. Does the machine care about your mindset or your wording when identifying a lie?"

"Uh, wording," Rocky answered, clearly suspicious. "It takes you literally, even if you're using a figure of speech or something."

"That's wrong," I said.

Everyone looked at me, surprised. "Um, no it isn't," Rocky argued. "It got you for that, when you said you were 'across the quad!' ...Is this some kind of mind game to catch the killer? Oh man, sorry if I screwed up your mind game, Saya!"

I blinked, but just decided to continue. "Er, no. It is wrong that the machine only cares about wording. It also cares about your mindset, because if it didn't, it wouldn't be able to tell when you're saying something you know isn't true."

Lucina held up a card: _There's limits to that. Remember? You can't just convince yourself you think something is true._

* * *

 _Lucina held up a new message,_ _My name is Lucina._ _She frowned. She scribbled a new note,_ _I was trying to doubt it, but it didn't work._

 _Bepi spoke up. "I don't know for sure that George Washington existed." Red light. He nodded. "Yeah. See, it's technically true that I don't know for sure, but I guess I just can't make myself really believe it."_

* * *

"Good point, child," Juliet said, curtsying slightly to Lucina, whose written response was so foul, I don't even want to repeat it. Juliet paid no attention, just smiling blithely.

"It also doesn't just go by wording alone," Bepi pointed out. "It has to know what you're responding to. Otherwise it couldn't flag anyone for responses to yes/no questions."

Katy tilted her head at him. "Hm? What do you mean?"

"Well, think about it." Bepi shrugged casually. "'Yes' just on its own can't be a lie or the truth. It doesn't mean anything. But..."

* * *

 _Jane hmphed and turned to Juliet. "Did you hurt Emily because you really wanted to save JP?"_

 _Juliet didn't move for a few seconds, her pupils dilating as I watched. Finally, she burst out, "Yes!" Red light. She doubled over, breathing hard._

* * *

"...the machine has buzzed people just for that."

Jane rubbed her chin. "So, the machine considers two kinds of context: other things people have said, and our knowledge."

"Right," Juliet replied, smiling. "With that in mind, let's consider our string of denials one more time."

* * *

 _Saya: No._  
 _Bepi: I did not kill Barrett._  
 _Lucina: I didn't do it either_  
 _Katy: I didn't kill him._  
 _Juliet: I killed Barrett. (lie)_  
 _Jane: I did not kill Barrett Wood._  
 _Rodrigo:_ _I did not and would not kill Friend Barrett._ _  
Rocky: Me neither._

* * *

"Saya's response is ambiguous," Juliet said. "But in context, it's clear. Saya was asked point-blank if she killed Barrett, so that 'no' has to be referring to that. There's no way she could plausibly convince herself she was answering a different question or talking about something else."

Lucina held up a quickly jotted note. _Rocky's response is the same. It looks iffy, but coming right after Rodrigo's, he couldn't have meant anything else._

Juliet just nodded and didn't say anything. There was a long, strange pause.

"Uh, well?" Jane asked impatiently.

Juliet tilted her head in confusion. "Well what?"

"Well, where's the lie!?"

"Oh." Juliet giggled girlishly. "Oh, I was waiting for people to name more rules. We're not done with the machine; there's two more absolutely key features we need to discuss."

"Um... okay," Katy ventured. "There's the writing thing, I guess? But Lucina didn't do it!"

"That remains to be seen," Juliet replied, grinning. "But yes, the writing thing. That's really important. The machine cares about when we write things, whether anyone else sees it or not."

"W...wait," Katy said, sweat clearly beading on her forehead. "I don't... this is getting really scary. I can't take this, anymore." She looked at me imploringly. "Saya, can you please do it? If you know, can you tell us who lied? It's too hard hearing it from Juliet."

She made brief eye contact with Lucina, then looked back at me. "I know we have to get it over with. But I'm going to go crazy unless you make it easier. Please."

I gazed back, helpless. "But I don't know."

"Saya." That was Bepi's voice. I looked over at him, still confused. "You're a brilliant, awesome bad-ass. Remember?" What he was saying was kind, but his face was harsh and angry. "The thing doing now doesn't help anybody. You're not weak. Stop pretending you are."

I opened my mouth and then closed it again. I looked down at my lectern, my heart feeling like it was going to explode. This was the first trial I was really feeling anything during, and it was unbearable. Was this how everyone else felt all the time?

"That pathetic, deviant bitch can't do anything," Juliet's voice chirped happily. "Stop acting like she's your grand hero. She..."

"Stop."

I had opened my mouth, and I had thought it was my voice, but it wasn't. It's was Katy's. She was glaring at Juliet with anger and contempt. "Stop making things harder! Just stop!"

"It's okay," I said. I looked up and caught Katy's eyes. I smiled. "I'll do it. It's okay."

Rodrigo took a half-step back. "Friend Saya! Are you certain you know the identity of the killer?!"

"Yeah." I kept smiling, but I felt so exhausted. "I've known the whole time. I just... didn't want to."

I grabbed the front of my sweater, right in front of my heart, and I squeezed. My fist and the cloth pressed together, like a single object, and it was like I could see my horror evaporating away through my hand. My heart slowed. I breathed.

"There's one more rule for the machine," I said, my words soft. "It's what happened to Rocky when he was trying to remember if he saw anyone in the quad tonight."

* * *

 _"_ _I dunno." He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Huh, that's a good question. Could I have seen anyone? I…" His eyes widened and he suddenly shouted. "Agh! No! Yes! I don't know!" His light turned red, and he relaxed, panting. "What the hell just happened?"_

 _Jane smirked at him; ideally she was not amused by the mere existence of his pain, but I couldn't rule it out. "You asked yourself a yes/no question. You should probably not do that."_

* * *

"The Cricket doesn't just pay attention to questions other people ask you. It pays attention to questions you ask yourself."

"Wait." Jane held up a hand. "Even my brilliant mind is not following, which makes me worry the slower among us are even more confused. What is the point of all this?"

"It's all the rules the killer exploited," I explained. "Most importantly, the one we talked about before. The killer noticed how the Cricket turned red after Lucina _wrote_ her lie, not when she showed other people. And from there, they built their whole strategy."

"Oh, shit," Rocky breathed. "The note papers! The notes! They used the notes!"

I nodded. "Yeah. They _seemed_ to deny killing Barrett, but they didn't. Because of what they wrote."

Jane gave me a sideways glance. "Just from that?"

"Well... no. They were clever in their phrasing and they made sure to set up their denial in the way they wanted. But the writing was the key."

I sniffled suddenly. My nose was runny. I brought my hand up to my face and found, to my surprise, that it was wet. I was crying and I hadn't even noticed.

"The killer is the one whose idea it was to have notes in the first place," I said. "The killer is the one who drove the initial denials. And to see how they did it, we have to look at their behavior, and then look at their notes."

* * *

 _For a moment, we all looked around at each other, apparently hesitant to start talking. Finally, Bepi spoke, clearly and loudly. "Saya, did you murder Barrett?"_

 _I felt the pain begin in my head, but I was still grateful for the direct way he'd begun things. "No." He caught my gaze and nodded. "Giuseppe, did you kill Barrett?"_

 _He stared down at his lap and took a deep breath; he apparently couldn't resist the chance to milk the moment for drama. But he looked up, confident and stark: "I did not kill Barrett."_

* * *

Why was I crying? It was weird. Who would be crying at a time like this?

* * *

 _note pronouns, pronouns can be ambiguous.  
_ _and helping verbs. language! clarity, machine cares about language, note ambiguity_

 _yes_

 _what is a lie?_

* * *

"And then we put them together. We put them together, so we can see what the killer did."

* * *

 _ **note pronouns, pronouns can be ambiguous.  
**_ ** _and helping verbs. language! clarity, machine cares about language, note ambiguity_**

 _For a moment, we all looked around at each other, apparently hesitant to start talking. Finally, Bepi spoke, clearly and loudly. "Saya, did you murder Barrett?"_

 _I felt the pain begin in my head, but I was still grateful for the direct way he'd begun things. "No." He caught my gaze and nodded. "Giuseppe, did you kill Barrett?"_

 _He stared down at his lap and took a deep breath; he apparently couldn't resist the chance to milk the moment for drama._

 _ **yes**_

 _ **what is a lie?**_

 _But he looked up, confident and stark: "I did not kill Barrett."_

* * *

"'Yes.'" I felt nothing. It was all so odd. "And then, 'what is a lie?' And he answered his own question with a perfect example of a lie. Because he did kill Barrett."

"Wait what?!" Katy shrieked. "Giuseppi?! But..."

"I mean, is it really all that surprising?" Bepi asked, so casual it was almost shocking. "I'm a killer. It's what I do."

"It couldn't be anyone else," I heard myself saying. "He's the only one with something like that in their notes."

"Wait, but... hold on!" Rocky snapped. "He denied it again, remember?"

* * *

 _Giuseppe:_ _I've done improvised weapons before. Uh, let me say very clearly though: I did not have anything to do with Barrett dying._

* * *

"He can't be the killer!" Rocky wailed. " Unless... there was there note weirdness there, too?"

"No, there was nothing in the notes that explained that," I replied.

"This is the dumb part," Juliet commented.

Bepi chuckled softly. "I actually... totally didn't think this would work. I thought it'd get me right there. I kinda can't believe my special skill would beat the machine."

"What special skill?!" Jane growled. "What about being a child soldier could possibly have helped you there?!"

"It's not being a child soldier that he means," I said.

"What? But..." Jane trailed off and stared into space for a moment. "Oh, you have got to be fucking kidding me."

* * *

 _I did not have anything to do with Barrett dying._

* * *

 _Rodrigo, Rocky, and Barrett were already there when we arrived. I waved, but I paused when I saw that Barrett had a towel around his neck, and the top of his head was coated in some kind of white paste._

 _"Uh," I said, "you okay, there?" He gave me a thumbs up._

 _"Oh, we're changing his look," Rocky said, grinning. "Dude needs highlights!" He yanked gently on his own scraggly, blonde hair. "I'm natural now, but when I wanted to make a big change, I dyed my hair. Symbolic, you know?"_

* * *

"ARE. YOU. FUCKING. KIDDING. ME." Jane was absolutely livid. "You almost got away with a murder because of your goddamn DAD JOKES?!"

Bepi just shrugged. "Hey. I really didn't have anything to do with Barrett dyeing. That was all Rodrigo and Rocky."

"If you weren't about to get executed, I'd fucking kill you just for that," Jane grumbled. Bepi just grinned.

"Well, that's that," Juliet said brightly. "Saya, care to take us through the murder, for anyone still confused?"

I blinked at her. "I can try," I said. "But... there's still a lot I don't know. We didn't solve this by figuring out the murder, we solved it by figuring out the lie. But all right..."

The killer must have begun their preparations earlier tonight. They got into the Secret Information cube for reasons I'm not sure of... maybe Monokuma set it up so they'd be able to get in to make them a target. But they realized it was a perfect, secluded place for a murder.

They got Barrett, who was an easy target thanks to his drugged state, and led him into the South Quad. Rocky was in the main quad, but they were able to sneak past him by walking through the shadows on the periphery.

Once they got to the Secret Information cube, they stabbed Barrett through the eye and left him in the secret room. Then, they set up shoddy traps they'd cobbled together both in the cube and outside... I assume they did this to make it ambiguous whether Barrett was killed directly, to camouflage lying to the Cricket later.

They then casually went back to the door and... I think... slipped a note under my door directing me to go to the South Quad late at night. Again, I think this was to muddy the waters, and to make sure Barrett's body was discovered before morning.

I don't know why they did what they did, but their actions in the Cricket make them the only possible suspect to be able to lie about killing Barrett. That means the murderer is... **Giuseppi Perfetto, the Ultimate Cadet!**

The room spun and I kind of lost awareness of what was happening around me for a moment. But I don't think I missed anything: everyone was just staring at Bepi in shock.

"Good work, Saya," Bepi said sadly. "I'll fill in some gaps, okay?" I nodded dumbly.

He cast his gaze around the circle as he spoke. "Barrett is the one who was smashing up rooms... maybe even while he was drugged. I walked into the cafeteria late last night and found him sitting on the floor, sharpening that table leg I used to kill him." He sighed. "He just gave it to me when I asked, though. I think it was just habit. Destroy things, make weapons, make chaos... it was just his nature.

"The traps were for the reason Saya said, to make it so someone could deny killing him and it wouldn't necessarily be a lie. I made them out of the wreckage in the smashed-up rooms as a little joke. And yes, I slipped the note under Saya's door. I... couldn't bear the thought of going all night before he was discovered; I had to get it over with."

There was another silence. Lucina held up a note, simply reading, _Why did you do it?_

Bepi paused a moment, then he sighed. "Because I'm a coward," he answered simply. "I couldn't stay here any longer. Not after almost getting my head blown off."

I looked up at him sharply. "Wait... wait, that doesn't make sense. You've been shot at your whole life, how could that have affected you so much?"

"I told you: because I'm a coward. That's how I survived so long."

"No." I shook my head at him, pointing angrily. "No, don't do this. You just expected to get away with it?"

He laughed genuinely. "Of course. What, you think if you hadn't caught me, I would have revealed myself? You think I resigned myself to getting executed a long time ago?"

"You're the one who collected everyone's notes," Juliet remarked. "And you showed them to Saya, our detective. The main evidence against you. You could have thrown it away, but you didn't."

"Yeah, because I'm _an idiot_!" Bepi snapped. "Just because I didn't do everything perfectly, that doesn't mean I secretly wanted to get caught."

Jane tapped her chin thoughtfully. "You said every death was a tragedy. In the cricket, so it wasn't a lie. But you..."

"This is stupid," Bepi grunted. "You're all little kids. Don't get mad, but you are. You've lived through nothing. You know _nothing_. You're in this naive little fantasy world."

Katy gaped at him. "But... but why did you..."

"Why!" Bepi suddenly spat, cracking his hand against his lectern. "Why why why! All any of you ever talk about is 'why!' There is no 'why!' There is nothing!"

He pointed up at Monokuma, who simply stood with his paws behind his back. "That's how he's going to ruin you! How can you be so stupid?!" He paused, rubbing his hand over his bald head in exasperation. "You had to jump through all those hoops in the new quad, remember? Each one meant to teach you, your senses are wrong. Things you think you see, you never saw. Things you think you think, someone else put in your head. There's your 'why!' And you get upset and lost and afraid, and the mastermind swoops in with the solution. This is the fucking brainwashing, and you're all just...

"Do you think... do you think science will save you?!" He spat the words to Jane in utter contempt. "Or stories?!" He moved on to Katy. "Or faith?! Or reason?! Or art?!" Rodrigo, me, Rocky. "Or love? Or suffering?" Juliet, Lucina. Finally, he glared at Ashley's portrait, the ugly black square blocking her mouth. "Or discipline?"

He shook his head, barking out a sarcastic, ugly laugh. "It's nothing. It's all just nothing. That's the only answer. The only way you'll get out of this is to accept that everything is just nothing, and Monokuma, I think it's time to vote for the killer, right?"

I started to say something, but Monokuma's shouting drowned me out. "That sounds correct! Please vote on the touch screens in front of you for the killer of Barrett Wood!"

I must have voted, but everything was just chaos and nonsense in my head. When I caught back up to the room, the readout showed that Bepi had received everyone's votes.

The familiar 'jackpot' sound effect was playing, but Monokuma scratched his head in confusion. "Huh? The system says you got it right, but you all voted for a...Giuseppi Perfetto? But there's no student here named that!" He suddenly slammed a fist into his other paw. "Oh! I see. You all mean Cadet #2! Well, you're correct!"

Bepi glowered, hate in his expression as he stared up at the bear. "Ready for your execution, Mr. Nobody?" the bear sang mockingly to him.

Bepi snorted with half amusement and half contempt. He reached into his pocket, pulled something out, and slammed it down onto his lectern. "You might have forgotten about this," he said to all of us in the circle. "But I didn't just find a nice murder room. I found the secret, special information. I thought y'all might be interested."

I found my voice, which was raspy and hoarse for some reason. "Bepi..."

"No." He glared directly at me, his single eye like a laser. "Saya, it doesn't mean anything. Nothing. I'm a coward. Everything else is just meaningless. Fear is the only thing real, and it finally killed me, and that's that."

Iciness filled up in my whole body and I suddenly found myself looking at him differently. He wasn't Bepi anymore; he was just a pattern of behaviors and traits like a chess game. "I don't believe you," I said.

"Believe whatever you want," he snapped. "Do you... you think it'd make you feel better to think there's some noble reason I did it, right? Some sacrifice?" He glowered. As if... as if I saw someone I care about close to committing murder, and I knew they wouldn't be able to control themselves forever, so I stepped in and did it myself first to protect them? Some deep, important story like that?"

I lost my iciness. I stared at him, my mouth hanging open.

I remembered that day in the module with Katy, when I stood across from her and reached out my hands and almost lost everything. And... in my memory, for a second, was there a flash of movement from outside? Just a tiny, quiet moment where I could see a person standing, listening? Or was I just making it up?

Giuseppi snorted. "That doesn't exist. It's naive. It's something a kid would believe. And thank god, because how fucking pointless, in the end. It wouldn't be a relief at all, it'd just be so fucking sad no one would be able to stand it.

"I'm ready for my fucking execution!" he shouted to Monokuma. Then he looked at all of us and pointed down at the thing on his lectern. "You listen to this. It's important. It's alpha-level important. You know what alpha-level means? It means the most important thing you can imagine. More important than any stupid motive a stupid nobody could have for killing anyone."

Rodrigo reached out his hand. "Friend Giuseppe..."

"Cadet 2!" Bepi corrected. He breathed hoarsely, tense and shaking. "I am nobody. I was never anybody. You forget about this shit with me, and you solve this mystery! You hear me?! I'm dead! I'm dead!"

"Do it!" He wasn't looking at Monokuma; he was staring right at me. "Do it, bear!" And the floor opened up beneath him and he fell.

 **SI VIS PACEM, PARA BELLUM**  
 **The execution of CADET #2**

 _The TV screens came up on Bepi, standing on a soundstage that looked like it was done up like a desert. He was in a combat stance, standing across from four Monokumas, all wearing headbands and bandoliers. One had a machine gun, two more had enormous knives, one had a shotgun._

 _Bepi glimpsed to the side like he was confused by the odds... but he soon grimaced. More guerilla Monokumas emerged from hiding places all around, running in from far away, even dropping from the sky. They all stood across him: an army._

 _A small timer popped up in the middle, showing 05. It counted down, slowly._

 _As it hit 02, a huge sign lit up on the wall across from Bepi. It said: **REMINDER: DAMAGING SCHOOL FACULTY IS A CAPITAL OFFENSE**_

 _Bepi laughed, dark and cruel. The counter hit zero. A buzzer went off, and they went into action._

 _He was a blur, jumping all around, dodging and flinging himself from spot to spot. He grabbed Monokumas and tossed them gently away, and he even seemed to be having some success using them to block attacks from others. Before long, a third of the Monokumas were broken on the floor, and Bepi hadn't himself damaged a single one._

 _One of them caught him in the side with a knife; he jumped away, but the spray of blood was still noticeable._

 _I noticed, above him, there was something slowly descending, lowered by some sort of machinery. It was big and ugly and metal. I realized it was an enormous bomb._

 _The Monokumas were throwing grenades, by this point. They were mostly taking out one another, but Bepi misjudged a dodge and was caught in an explosion. He rolled away and staggered to his feet, singed and bleeding._

 _He glanced up at the bomb. More Monokumas were crawling out of the floor and the scenery. I was watching his face, and I saw him make a decision. He suddenly lunged forward, smashing his kneecap into one of his enemies, launching the grinning bear's head into the air. A siren went off, a red light flashed, and a puff of steam came out from the bomb above him. He grabbed a nearby Monokuma's rail gun and pulled it away, spraying bullets into the surrounding robots. There was a moment of just him mowing them down, mechanical carnage all around, his wild laughter somehow louder than the gunshots... and then the bomb above him made a mighty thunk sound._

 _There was a flash of blinding, white light. When it was gone, everything had just been vaporized. There was nothing at all left. Nothing._

I had fallen to my knees at some point. I also couldn't hear, and the things I could see didn't make sense. It all just... got blown up.

 **TRIAL ELEVATOR**

I began to regain my senses on the elevator, grinding upwards. I realized Rodrigo was holding one of my arms, and Lucina was holding the other. I tried to move, and it didn't work. I dumbly noticed that my legs were limp, and I would have fallen over without their support.

Juliet stood apart from us, eyeing me coolly. After a moment, she sighed. "What did you even expect?" she asked. "He was a man without love in his heart. He..."

"Shut the fuck up," Jane's voice snapped from somewhere behind me. Juliet complied.

 **MAIN QUAD**

We all exited the elevator, still silent. Juliet skipped off happily, but the rest of us just stood in a circle, awkward and cold. It really did feel like Autumn by now.

Everyone was looking at me. I guess I was the only was he was close to since Ashley died, after all.

I found myself able to stand upright, and I gave Rodrigo and Lucina grateful looks as I stepped away from them. When I spoke, it was hoarse and echoey. "Did anyone get the secret information?"

No one answered for a moment, and then Rocky raised his hand. "Uh. I did. It's, like, an old mp3 player. Looks like there's only one file on it."

"Can you play it out here?" I asked, nodding towards his music equipment.

There was another awkward silence, and eventually Katy spoke up. "Are you sure, dear heart? Maybe we should just get some sleep instead..."

"No," I said, plainly. "I wanna hear it. Doesn't everyone?"

No one looked convinced, but eventually Rocky nodded. We went over to his equipment, he pulled out a loose cord and plugged the mp3 player in. Then he flipped a switch, turned a knob, and I could hear ambient noise and a gentle hum.

A woman's voice, nasal and odd, cut in suddenly, mid-sentence. "...not me! I promise..."

"Save it!" This new voice was electronically altered, impossible to tell anything about the speaker. "There's no one else it could be! You're the mastermind, you're the one working with Dr. Alameda!"

Nasal voice spoke again: "But it's not me!"

A man's voice cut in, deep and clear. "Please don't make this any harder-" a tone blocked out part of the message. "-is right. It has to be you. Please just admit it." He sounded close to tears.

The altered voice spoke: "She'll never admit it! She's been a perfect liar all this time!"

Nasal voice was sobbing now. "No! No..."

"Don't try to make us feel sorry for you!" a rich, androgynous-sounding voice proclaimed. "You and Alameda have been trying to turn us into your little puppets, but it didn't work! We'll always fight you!"

A second, altered voice spoke; it was clearly distinct from the first, but it had the same odd, alien sound to it. "You tried to use us!"

"That's right!" the first altered voice agreed. A censoring tone sounded, and the voice picked back up: "-remember? She died trying to keep us from falling into your clutches! We'll never bow to you, and we'll never bow to a government that would murder to try to keep its young people in line!"

Nasal voice just whined out sobs. "Don't... please! Please believe me!"

The androgynous voice scoffed. "And now we've reached the end, and you know that not only did your plan fail, it backfired! Monokuma! Fulfill your programming! We're done with this garbage!"

"Well, fair's fair!" Monokuma's voice proclaimed amid the continual bleating of nasal-voice. "You passed your final exam, so it's time to graduate! Say goodbye to the mastermind-" and the censor tone bleated again. When it stopped, I could just hear a fading, woman's scream.

After a moment, a new voice spoke, a man's, high-pitched. "What do we do now?"

The first altered voice chuckled; it sounded grotesque. "We..." And then the audio cut off.

We all looked at one another in bewilderment.

 **DORM: SAYA'S ROOM**

Hours later, I lay in bed. I hadn't slept. I hadn't done anything except cry and stare at the ceiling. It suddenly occurred to me that I was broken over a murderer and felt nothing about a victim. My chest ached.

I glanced over at the window; it was still dark. I sat up, pressing my forehead into my hands. I was out of tears.

There was a soft thump from across the room. I jerked my head over and saw a short, round shape in the corner, staring at me.

I felt like I couldn't breathe, I jumped away from it. But Monokuma didn't move; he just laughed softly. "Hi, Saya."

"What..." I pressed a clenched fist against my chest. "What are you doing here?!"

"Hm?" He tilted his head mischievously. "Why are you acting like you know me? You don't know me. This is the first time you've ever heard me speak... with my true voice."

I stared at him, the pieces fitting together. "...the mastermind?"

"AI is amazing technology, but sometimes humans have to step in and offer guidance," he said.

I glanced around. "Where are you right now?"

"Ehehe. In my dorm room, just meters away from you. It's super dangerous and exciting, don't you think?" My gaze fell upon the shadowy form of the door to the hallway, and he held up a paw. "Oh, don't bother. I'm watching everything you do. Before you're even out of this room, much less to anyone else's room, I'll be all curled up in bed, ready to act so innocent, you'd never guess I'm lying."

I breathed. "Why are you here?"

"Hmm. Well, I was thinking about old movies."

"What...?"

"You like old movies, right Saya? You used to watch them ever week with your mother. And, well, this moment is like my debut. The first time I get to speak as myself. And that made me think of old movies, how they used to be silent and then they had sound. Do you know the first movie with talking in it?"

I answered automatically. "The Jazz Singer."

"The Jazz Singer, right! And so you know the first line audiences heard from a movie? The first thing anyone in a movie said?"

I stared at him, feeling more terrified than I'd ever felt in my life.

"'You ain't heard 'nothin, yet,'" he said. He stared at me for a moment, unmoving, then he stomped his little foot on the floor. A panel opened up, just like the one Rocky found in the ROTC. Monokuma jumped into the hole.

As the panel sealed up as if it'd never been there, I felt myself shivering.

* * *

 _Q: Tell me about your parents, please._  
 _BP: I never knew them._  
 _Q: Hrm. Do you wish you had?_  
 _BP: I have a lot of pointless wishes._


	37. Mimesis in Theory and Practice, Part A

**NEW HOPE UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF ULTIMATES: WEST QUAD  
** There is nothing in the west quad nothing. no thing not not

 **NOTABLE LOCATIONS:**

 _Parker Library  
_ i was alone here once many years ago it was empty hallways and the smell of books and i sat on the carpet and the carpet smelled like books i felt myself dying dying like flying i ran my hand on the spines of the books the books weren't real the books were just in my head the smell of books was ju

Available weapofdjbbrfef ,f4 rjfkfnwelrj33 fwpuwff.,,2vvvvvvvvvvv

* * *

After the sun came up, people started knocking on the door. The first was soft and hesitant, and no one tried to say anything, so I assume it was Lucina. She was sweet to try to check in.

The second was polite, formal little raps, three of them, and then a boistrous but uncharacteristically nervous voice, "Friend Saya? I have been speaking to others, and we are concerned about your well-being. 'Twould be best to seek comfort in friendship and not seclusion. Perhaps...?" But he didn't finish the question and heard nothing else.

The third set of knocking was impatient but oddly muffled. Jane's voice called, "Don't you think you should come out? Really, darling, think about your dignity. It'd be terribly embarrassing to survive this long and then to starve to death. Don't be dense." There was a pause. "If you commit suicide, then after I escape, I will tell everyone I solved all the murders on my own and you were just my dunderheaded sidekick." I didn't move. I guess she left after that.

Time passed. Eventually, I got another knock. "Hey, um..." It was Rocky, of all people. "Are you..." He trailed off. I sat in silence.

I fell asleep at some point, because a sudden noise caused me to jolt awake. I was dazed for a moment, which was welcome. It was dark outside.

I heard the sound again. It was someone knocking on the door, but it sounded odd. Piercing, but somehow musical.

"Hey, Saya," Juliet's sweet voice called. "Open up. I want to murder you."

I wasn't even sure why, but I stood up and lurched over on unsteady legs. I grabbed the handle and pulled the door open a crack, looking out at her.

She was in her business slut attire, again. Short, fancy skirt, tight, white blouse, chic glasses, hair sleekly held up with a clip. "You're into this, right?" She did a little twirl, showing off her outfit. "I don't have a lot of practice figuring out what girls like."

I was actually enormously into it, of course, but I glared. "What do you want?"

She glanced at an expensive-looking, silver watch I have no clue where she acquired. "It's been hours. Let's get you something to eat. I'll poison it. It'll be great." She turned and walked off without another word.

I spent a very brief second questioning whether or not to follow her. Before that moment was over, I had already walked out into the hallway.

 **STUDENT UNION: CAFETERIA**

The trip over to get some food was silent, but Juliet kept giving me irritatingly knowing looks. When we arrived, we picked at the food left out overnight, and we tried to salvage a usable pair of seats from the wreckage Barrett had left.

I sat on a broken stool, poking my wilted spinach salad. Juliet licked up a small amount of the frozen yogurt she'd gotten. She kept looking at me knowingly.

"What is it?" I asked, annoyed. "Seriously, what are you doing?"

She paused, then shrugged. "You weren't in love with Giuseppi," she said.

I blinked at her in surprise. "...What?"

"You weren't in love with Giuseppi," she repeated. "I don't get it."

"Don't get what?"

She waved a hand at me vaguely. "I don't think you're faking this. You're upset."

"Of course I am," I snapped. "He was my friend."

She frowned, taking another little lick of frozen yogurt. "You fucked him, but you weren't in love with him. You _wouldn't_ fuck Lucina, but you _are_ in love with her."

"What's your goddamn point, Juliet?"

She shrugged helplessly. "I don't understand it! It seems like such a waste! If you'd loved one another, then all of this would have been meaningful. Your pain right now would be meaningful. But without love... aggh." She shook her head, glaring. "I'm half intrigued and half infuriated."

"I did love him," I replied. "Just not like that. We were friends. It's not that weird a concept."

"Yes, but it's stupid!" Juliet looked like she was trying to explain sub-atomic physics to a toddler. "It's a waste! You're a girl, and he was right there! In your bed, even! How do you even expect to be a girl if you have an opportunity like that and don't even fall in love?!"

I felt myself growing irritated at her, which was an enticingly pleasant sensation. "I don't really think much about being a girl. I just kind of take it for granted."

"That's not true!" she snapped, almost petulantly. "Your father made it very clear he wished you'd been a son."

I made a fist and then released it, trying to relax. "That... didn't really mean anything. He just thought he'd understand me if I was a boy, but I know it wouldn't have made any difference. He can't understand anyone but himself. Like you."

"Gahhh." Juliet looked away huffily and then took a deep breath. "You don't get it."

"I really don't."

She crossed her arms, pouting. "Okay," she said eventually. "Let me try to explain it this way. Have you ever read that story 'The Lady or the Tiger?'"

This was a strange enough zigzag that I immediately found myself distrusting her intentions, but I just replied, "Um, yes. A long time ago."

"Good." She straightened up, acting for all the world like a literature professor. "Humor me: tell me what you remember about it."

I shrugged. "It's about this guy who's condemned by the king, and he's put in like a gladiator arena, and he has to walk through one of two doors. Behind one is a beautiful woman he'll marry, and behind the other is a tiger that'll kill him. And then it doesn't have an ending. It just stops and the author goes, 'Hey reader, what do you think happened?'"

Juliet nodded smartly. "But it's more than that. It's not famous simply because it had a clever gimmick. It does have an ending; it's just simply an ending that differs from reader to reader. Because, miss photographic memory, remind me what else happens."

I was getting extremely suspicious, but I complied. "Well, he's in the arena because he was caught having an affair with the king's daughter. And the princess is there, and she knows what's behind what door. And she tells him to go through the door on the right, and he does."

"Mmm hmm," Juliet agreed, tilting her head. "So. The ending isn't simply one of random chance. It depends on whether the reader thinks the princess would rather see her true love torn apart... or marry another woman. And that depends on what the reader brings to the story. The reader's _beliefs_."

I nodded. "Yeah. About love, right? If I think love is good, then she directs him to the lady. If I think love is selfish, she directs him to the tiger. I can see why you'd be into this, but..."

"Ah ah ah," she chided. "That's one thing. The story may be about love. But I didn't think so, when I read it at first. I assumed the story was about _women_. If the reader thinks women are cruel and unreasonable, he goes to the tiger. If women are pure, he goes to the lady."

She regarded me thoughtfully, an index finger pressed against her chin. "And that makes a huge difference to me. You see, if the story is about love, then of course she sends him to the lady. But if the story is about women, then he's torn apart by the tiger. Without love, I'd relish seeing him die. With love, I couldn't bear it. Do you see?"

"No. Completely not."

She shook her head disdainfully. "Stubbornness is the greatest of your many flaws, you know."

"Juliet..."

"Love is what saves women," she interrupted, then she paused thoughtfully. "Or rather... love is what truly creates women. Before love, women are shells. They can fill up with anything, and it's usually something terrible."

I just shook my head at her. I realized this feeling of annoyed, frustrated anger was exactly why I'd come out when she knocked on my door. It was distracting. "You know this is completely screwed up, right?"

Instead of answering, she licked her frozen yogurt and regarded me coolly. "What did you think happened in the story when you read it? Did he go to the lady or the tiger?"

"I... kind of didn't think about that?" I answered, scratching my head. "I was mostly thinking about the lady. She's trapped and might have to marry this guy she doesn't even know, and she didn't even do anything! So I thought I _wanted_ it to be the tiger. But then I realized, she's probably trapped. They just use her over and over until someone opens her door. So I think I eventually decided it doesn't matter."

Juliet raised an eyebrow. "Really? You thought about..." She trailed off and shook her head in contempt. "Ugh. You're just so... weak. You struggle and fight, but every time you just submit to the temptation to be good, like a weakling."

"I do not..." I began to argue angrily, but then I realized what she actually said. "Wait, temptation to be _good_?"

Grimacing, she sat back in her chair, crossing her arms over her chest. "Just pathetic." She shifted her gaze above and behind me, giving off a smirk. "Hey, which do you think, cutie? The lady or the tiger?"

I swiveled around and jumped in surprise. Lucina was standing right behind me, glaring with obvious rage at Juliet. She'd come up so quietly, I hadn't known she was there.

After a moment of glaring, Lucina strode around my chair and positioned herself between me and Juliet. I know I was in a chair and she was standing, but she looked even taller than normal. She quickly wrote out a note I couldn't see and held it up.

Juliet snickered. "Why should I? You don't own her."

Lucina scratched out another message; her movements were firm. I'd noticed that she was actually pretty toned and muscular despite her beanpole frame, but I don't think I'd ever really seen her tensed up like this. She looked like Wonder Woman.

Juliet shrugged. "Because I want to keep living here."

Lucina shook her head in disgust and turned around. She grabbed me by the arm and pulled me to my feet. Her face was so serious and worried, in a way I'd never seen before, I didn't think to resist as she dragged me out of the room. Juliet didn't make a sound as we left, and I didn't look back.

 **MAIN QUAD**

As soon as we got outside, Lucina threw her arms around me, hugging tight. I immediately froze and sputtered a little, and she noticed my reaction and pulled away. She blushingly looked down. _Sorry_ , the note she held up said.

"Uh. It's okay." I was blushing quite a bit myself. "What's wrong?"

She looked up at me quickly, as if I was nuts. _Jane said she heard you leaving with Juliet. I was so worried she'd done something to you._

I snorted, waving my hand dismissively. "She just wanted to talk about literature, or something. More insanity about love."

She suddenly slapped her notebook into the palm of her other hand; I was so startled I yelped. The idea of Lucina making a loud noise was so odd, I couldn't really wrap my head around it.

Staring seriously, she jotted out another message, _She's Juliet. You can't trust her. Why did you go with her?_

I was leaning back a little, still very startled. "I... I don't know. I kind of felt like I couldn't handle anyone else."

She goggled her eyes at me as if that was the most ludicrous thing she'd ever heard. But instead of responding, she pinched the ridge between her eyes and took a deep breath.

Her next note was a little shakier than most. _Just stay safe. OK?_

I couldn't keep myself from blushing. Mumbling, I looked down at my feet.

I felt a soft jostling, and I looked up in shock. Had she just... punched my shoulder? I looked down, as if there'd be evidence there. I looked back up. It had been very soft, but yes. She had just punched my shoulder. I couldn't believe it.

She held up her last message right in my face and tapped her index finger against the word _OK?_

"OK!" I said, too startled to do anything else.

She nodded smartly. Then she blushed slightly and scribbled out, _Sorry about hitting you._

"I... have to admit, I didn't think you had it in you," I replied.

She raised an eyebrow, then showed me, _I'm full of rage, so watch out!_

I laughed; it felt nice. "Hey, as proof I'm not planning to die, I was going to go try to buy a book about sign language. I want us to be able to communicate better after we get out of here."

She smiled beautifully, looking genuinely pleased.

"Plus," I added, "I'm super jealous of Katy. I want to be able to talk to you like she does!"

Lucina stopped smiling, but she didn't look upset. _You're still jealous?_

"It's okay," I promised, smirking. "I'll deal with it. I just can't change who I have feelings for this quickly."

 _Yeah,_ she wrote. _I get it. Me too._

I started to reply and found I couldn't. She seemed to realize what she'd written and pulled her message away quickly, diverting her gaze to the ground and blushing.

Still not looking at me, she held up, _I'm going to go meet Katy._

"Um. Yeah. Okay." I took a deep breath, trying to steady myself. "I was going to try to go for a run, I think. If... if you both want to come work out, that'd be nice, I think."

She nodded, finally catching my eye again with a tiny smile. Not even really knowing how to say goodbye, I just stiffly turned and walked off to the gym.

 **STUDENT UNION: CAFETERIA**

They did come to the gym, but we didn't work out together. After giving me a huge, extended hug, Katy went to the weight room, and Lucina bowed into a studio to, I think, do some yoga. I headed to the treadmills as usual. It was good to work out, but I couldn't clear my mind as well as usual. I kept thinking about Bepi. I guess that's normal.

I made sure to finish up and shower before the others, and I waited for them outside. When they came out, they very nicely asked me if I was hungry, and I said yes. I have no idea what time it was, but it was probably getting pretty late. Too late for dinner.

But weirdly, most of my other classmates were in the cafeteria when we arrived. Rocky and Rodrigo sat together, both laughing. Jane sat actually kind of near them, poking at a plate of french fries.

Everything got weird and silent as soon as I walked in, but thankfully it was only a couple of seconds before Jane let out a derisive snort. "Well well, thanks for actually joining us out here in the land of the living," she remarked snidely, probably convincing herself she was successfully hiding her relief.

Rocky just waved cheerfully. But Rodrigo somberly stood up, walked over, and knelt down right in front of me. "Friend Saya!" he cried, staring down at the floor. "I failed in my duty to protect Friend Giuseppi! Please accept my humblest penitence!"

I took a half-step back, honestly startled. The dude was just radiating intensity somehow, and I had no clue what to do. I glanced over at Lucina and Katy, and they were no help.

"Just say you accept it," Jane called out, rolling her eyes. "He did this to me when Emily died."

I looked down at Rodrigo, quivering with shame. "I... accept?" I said, as gratefully as I could. He stood up and immediately threw his arms around me, squeezing tightly. Then he pulled back and looked at me with the most serious gaze I had ever seen on anyone.

"Friend Giuseppe used his God-given free will for vice and evil," he intoned. "We must remember Friend Barrett, who, like us all, struggled with his nature in order to do good in the world! But." He pulled back and placed a fist across his chest. "The fault is this evil place."

I nodded, catching back up. "Yeah. I think so, too. I'm mad at him, but it's Alameda's fault."

"Hey, why were you all here so late?" Katy asked, seeming happy about how well people were getting along. "It's almost midnight."

"None of us could sleep," Rocky answered as Rodrigo sat back down across from him. "We were all spooked. The campus just suddenly feels really empty, you know?"

I blinked to realize Lucina was holding out a plate with a hamburger on it. I took it, smiling at her, and the three of us sat down at a nearby semi-reconstructed table.

"That isn't the only thing," Rodrigo said. "If the same pattern continues, then we are soon to have access to the area of campus to the west. That is the final door that could be opened."

"Yeah, and that means... this is over, right?" Rocky piped up. Nothing else to open up after a new murder, so no more murders."

"And, as I was just saying, that's a foolishly hasty assessment," Jane drolled. "It does seem likely that we're following a preset course, and at some point, there will be no more of the campus to reveal. But I'm not convinced this is over."

"Why not?" Katy asked.

"Because of what the bear said during that asinine 'class' we were supposed to attend," Jane answered. "There's ten buildings on campus, and escape is only possible through the administration building. But..." She held up a gloved hand and raised her fingers as she recited her list, "The dorm, the student union, the classroom building, the gym. The frat house, the art center. The ROTC, the science building. That's eight. Counting the administration building... there's still one more mysterious building."

"Hmmmm," I mused. "Yeah. I don't think it's likely we'll just open up a way out. I think there's more."

"Gah, this sucks," Rocky moaned, shivering. "It's like we're on rails, just going towards... something we don't know what it is."

Lucina signed something, and Katy nodded. "That's not the worst part," she said. "Lucina just told me how creepy it is the mastermind already has us knowing what to expect. She's totally right, it's really scary."

Rodrigo raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"Well, think about it," Katy answered. "The mastermind, like, sets patterns, and we learn to expect them. We think we know how everything's going to go. We're thinking just like the mastermind wants us to." She waved her hands around vaguely. "And, I mean... that might be smart of us? We should have some kind of plan. But we can't think ahead and surprise the mastermind at the same time."

I felt a chill, and I glanced around the room at everyone. "I think this is probably on everyone's mind already," I said, "but unless Juliet is the mastermind... you're right here with us."

We all got quiet, just staring at one another.

 **DORM: SAYA'S ROOM**

I had thought that I wouldn't be able to fall asleep, since I'd slept away a lot of the day already. But I was practically staggering by the time Katy and Lucia walked me back to my room, and when I got into my pajamas and my head hit the pillow, I was out like a light.

Even asleep, I was dreading this one. I'd been spared somehow when I passed out earlier, but this time, the dream came up bright and realistic and detailed. It was some kind of giant, well-decorated living room. Nicole sat on a couch facing me, reading a magazine. JP sat on the other end of the couch, very clearly deciding whether he should scoot closer or just stay where he was.

Suddenly, the front door slammed open and Bepi stormed in, waving his hands excitedly. "Guys!" he shouted. "I have a great idea to make money fast!"

Nicole rolled her eyes. "Oh, come on, Bepi, not another get-rich-quick scheme."

"This is foolproof!" Bepi insisted. " _Foolproof_! It's so simple! We just take something that already works and update it!"

JP sighed. "I hope this is better than your idea for radioactive scarecrows."

"Much better!" Bepi planted himself in front of them in a salesman stance. "Now, great literature. We all love it, right? But is it even any good? No one knows! Like... like War and Peace. No one's read War and Peace!"

"I have," Nicole said, not slowing Bepi down for even a moment.

"But you know what people today love? Choice! Immersion! I don't want to just read War and Peace, I want to interact with it. So I give you..." Grunting, he heaved an absolutely enormous book from behind his back. It was much too large to actually be behind his back, but he somehow pulled it out and slammed it down onto the coffee table, breaking it.

JP and Nicole looked down at the wreckage, nonplussed. "Um... what is that?"

"It's The Grapes of Wrath!" Bepi answered manically. "But see, it's not. See, every few pages, the reader gets to make a choice. And with each choice, they turn to a new page and keep going. If they choose to divert from the story, they can! New things happen!"

JP kicked the book lightly; it didn't budge. "Did you... write entirely new stories?"

"Yeah! Well, I mean, it usually turned into either dudes making out or marines fighting aliens. It kinda just became stream of consciousness after a while. I had to make a lot of content!"

Nicole started reading her magazine again. "This sounds absolutely terrible."

"But it's not!" Bepi argued. " This book can't possibly be any worse than The Grapes of Wrath, because _The Grapes of Wrath_ is word-for-word in here if the reader follows the right path! That's the genius part. It doesn't matter what you add to great literature, because the great literature will always still be there, being all great!"

Nicole threw her magazine into the air in frustration. "It's a bad idea, Bepi."

"Only for people who reject choice!" Bepi snapped. "Only for people who want everyone else to make their decisions for them! Only for cowards."

"Only for cowards," JP agreed.

"Only for people who pretend not to know what they want," Bepi insisted. "Only for the damned." And I suddenly realized all three of them were looking directly at me.

I woke up tangled in my sheets, sweating, aching.

 **DORM: ENTRANCE LOBBY**

I hadn't gotten two steps out of the elevator hallway before a blonde head stuck itself through the door to the ruined computer lab. It was Rocky; he grinned when he saw me. "Saya!" he called. "Hey! You're exactly who we need!"

I paused, scratching my head in confusion. "Uh... isn't that room all smashed up?"

But he ignored my question and just called, "C'mere! C'mere c'mere c'mere!" It turned into a chant. "Come here Saya! Come here Saya!"

"Oh good lord, stop!" Jane's voice called out of the computer lab.

Even more confused, I walked over.

 **DORM: COMPUTER LAB**

The computer lab was indeed still all wrecked. No tables or recognizable computers were left, but someone had been able to salvage a few office chairs. Jane sat in one of them, delicately resting her chin on her hand. Next to her, on the wall, was a white board, which was a confusing mass of names and lines.

Rocky gleefully jumped into one of the chairs and rolled it over to the white board. "Hey, check it out!" he cheered. "We've been working on this all afternoon!"

"Please stop jumping all around, you utter nitwit," Jane grunted. Rocky appeared completely unfazed by her insult.

"Um." Before I could even look at what was written on the board, I had to address the two people in the room. "You two are... working together?"

"Unfortunately," Jane sighed. She tilted her head. "What?"

I squinted at Jane in confusion. "I just... I'm surprised you'd work with anyone here."

"It's merely self-protective," she replied, shrugging. "There's only six of us left, not counting Juliet of course. The DJ here is at least too much of a dunce to be untrustworthy."

"Y...yyyyeah." I looked in equal puzzlement to Rocky. "And... that doesn't bother you?"

Rocky turned around from something he'd been writing on the board. "Huh?"

"She just called you a dunce. That doesn't bother you?"

Rocky waved a hand dismissively. "No way! I don't even notice any more." He leaned over, as if telling me a secret. "I don't even think she knows she's doing it. It's just a habit."

Jane glared. "I can hear you, cretin."

"Ha!" Rocky clapped his hands in delight. "And she's, like, a walking thesaurus of ways to call me dumb! Hey, tell Saya that word you used before. You know, the funny one."

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Jane muttered, rolling her eyes.

"Yeah, you do!" Rocky argued. "The one that made me laugh!"

Jane closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "...Mollycocker."

Rocky laughed out loud. Jane was pressing a gloved hand against her mouth, obviously trying hard to look annoyed. "It's archaic," she explained to me. A giggle almost escaped her lips. "I... am not the type to 'spend time' with other people, but I'm sad to say it's usually enjoyable when I do." She paused. "Plus, the DJ is far more daft, but his fancifulness reminds me of... individuals I've been close to in the past."

I found myself smiling. Almost ten people had to die for these two to become friends, but it'd somehow happened. "Okay," I said. "What's this you're working on?"

"It's the big mystery!" Rocky answered with excitement. "I'm writing down everything we know!"

"I've never encountered a final exam I wasn't completely prepared for," Jane added. "If it's so important we figure out what's going on, let's figure it out."

I stood before the white board, taking it in. It was... pretty disorganized and overwhelming, probably from Rocky's influence, but it was also very detailed, probably from Jane's influence. I held up my index finger. "Let's just treat this as a mystery, all right? Lay out the evidence we've been given, and leave speculations of what it means until later."

Jane shrugged. "Very well. According to the grant application, twelve years ago, Dr. Eugene Alameda was given funds by the Department of Defense to create this campus. Our group is experiencing merely the latest iteration of his killing game."

"Got it!" Rocky said. He indicated a part of the board, which showed, "EUGENE ALAMEDA created program, funded by US government."

I nodded. "According to the grant, this game was solely for the purpose of hurting the younger generation." Rocky added a note; 'Intention: Hurt young people!'

I tapped my chin in thought. "That intention is partly true. But the documents we found showed that he wanted to... train us to help society and follow the rules., or something like that. He does hate young people, but this whole thing is supposed to, like, fix us." Rocky added notes on the board as I spoke.

"Okay, that's the grant thing," Rocky said. "What else do we have?"

"The document Therion gave to Saya," Jane answered. "Suggesting that not only is one of us the mastermind, but also one of us is a holdover from previous semesters."

"Um, and there was the voicemail?" I ventured. "The one that played at night, and Monokuma acted like it was a mistake."

"Right!" Rocky said, jotting down notes. "The one from 30 Under 30 Media Luminary Gareth McGregor! So like... that said the alumni were... supposed to do something if they didn't hear from someone in time?"

"Yeah," I said. "The guy on the phone knew the killing game was happening, and he specifically referred to the mastermind as the person he was trying to reach."

Rocky wrote down and underlined the word ALUMNI and turned back to us. "Okay, and then there was the recording we heard the other night. Of the old trial."

"Yes, we heard some people having their 'final exam,'" I replied. "They exposed someone as working with Alameda, and then Monokuma executed them."

Jane crossed her arms over her chest, crinkling her forehead in thought. "The recording had a voice that was altered and unrecognizable."

"Two!" Rocky spoke up. "Trust me, I know sound, and there were definitely two different voices that were altered."

"Hmm, quite." Jane displayed only mild annoyance at being corrected. "Then... I know we aren't to make interpretations, but this is quite confusing."

I tried to take in the board and my eyes got a little blurry. "Yeah, this is overwhelming. I think it'd be good to highlight the big players."

"Awesome idea!" Rocky took a marker and stood ready. At my and Jane's suggestions, he drew a box around US GOVT, EUGENE ALAMEDA, MASTERMIND, HOLDOVER, ALUMNI.

"Now, just to help us organize, the relationships between them?"

Jane looked irritated that we were talking about human relationships, but she spoke up first. "The alumni are working for the mastermind. Correct? We learned that from the voice mail before the last murder." Rocky drew an arrowed line from the mastermind to the alumni.

"That means the alumni are also working for Alameda, right?" Rocky asked.

"Um, I don't know," I said. "I'd thought so, because we all got psych interviews from an alumnus."

Jane hmmphed. "Oh, that's who that was. Interesting." She paused and blinked. "But what about recording we heard after the last trial? If that really was a previous class of Ultimates, then they overthrew the mastermind."

"They were also clearly fighting _against_ Alameda," I said. "They were yelling at the mastermind for working with him."

"'I'd been assuming that one of the distorted voices was that of the holdover," Jane pointed out.

Rocky nodded. "Yeah, me too. If they're here, we'd recognize their voice."

"But the voice there was one of the people getting the mastermind executed," I pointed out. "Are the holdover and the mastermind enemies?" I recalled the paper Therion had given me what felt like decades ago. "The people in charge didn't seem like they were too bothered about there being a holdover. And if this person was hostile to the mastermind, then why let them come back? Why not just kill them?"

We paused, frowning. Rocky drew a line between HOLDOVER and MASTERMIND with a question mark.

"I don't get this mastermind thing," he said. "Because like... if we heard the mastermind die, then why do we have one living here with us? And if they were one of the voices that was disguised, how'd they go from hating the killing game to running it?"

"And what about Alameda?" I pointed out. "We heard several people 'pass the final exam,' but they weren't ready to follow the rules of society. They were the opposite! What did Alameda do with them?"

"Maybe he eliminated them," Jane said. "The 'alumni' in question are only the ones loyal to his mission. 'Passing the final exam'... just gets one killed."

"But then why disguise any of their voices?" I asked, throwing my hands up in bewilderment.

I glanced back at the board. It was still very confusing, and I'd noticed Rocky had drawn question marks in a number of places while we were talking.

As we stood in our bewilderment, a chime suddenly went up from our pockets. Jane smoothly reached into her jacket and pulled out her tablet, beeping it on and gazing at it drolly. "Well," she announced. "Barrett's death has paid off as expected. The new section of the campus has been opened up. And no mention of an administration building. It's a library."

Rocky threw his hands up in frustration. "This was pointless!" he grunted. "We didn't figure anything out!"

"I don't think that's true!" I argued, giving what I hoped was an encouraging smile. "I just don't think we know enough to tie it all together yet."

Jane laughed humorlessly. "Indeed. The mastermind is clearly dropping little hints here and there as we go." She sighed and slipped her tablet back into her pocket. "Oh well. It's a good thing Saya will clearly be the next person who gets murdered."

I rolled my eyes. "Hey Rocky," I said, "Jane's accent is fake. She's from Canada."

Rocky's eyes lit up. "Oh! Toronto? There's a great music scene there, and..."

"Calgary," I interrupted.

Rocky closed his mouth. "Oh," he said.

Jane just closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Surrounded by fools," she muttered. I found myself laughing.

 **WEST QUAD**

I ended up getting some food and hanging out in the student stores for a while before heading over to the new quad. Truthfully, I was dragging my feet. Finally, I sucked it up and just headed over.

The library was somehow both the most striking and the most conventional building I'd seen on campus. Every packet of admissions material I'd been sent featured an eclectic group of students hanging out in front of a building like this. Huge, marble pillars lined an intimidating set of stairs. The building itself was huge, made of dark brick, and ivy lined the walls.

Rodrigo stood in the quad, beholding the library in awe. I walked up and waved shyly; he barely noticed.

"Uh… hi," I said. "You… okay?"

"This is a library?" he asked, sounding exhausted just taking in that fact.

"Yeah." I spared a concerned glance to him. "Seriously, are you all right?"

"It is so… huge!" he breathed. "How can it…" He looked at me suddenly. "Is there really so much knowledge in this world, it takes a building such as this to house it all?!"

"I guess?" I answered, scratching my head. "I mean… this is a lot of books. I don't know if it's all knowledge. There's a lot of bad books."

"A book is a book, and knowledge is knowledge," he replied seriously. I had no idea what that meant, but luckily he kept talking. "I… I must control myself. Faust sold his soul for knowledge, of course."

"I never liked that story," I said offhandedly. "But I guess… we should be careful about anything we find in there. This isn't just any library."

"Indeed." Rodrigo breathed slowly. "Indeed. Yes. Thank you for your reminder, Friend Saya!" He smiled genuinely. "I will remain here and pray before entering; I must have a groundwork of faith before entering." He closed his eyes and stood stock-still.

"Uh. Okay." I waved, trying to be friendly but probably coming off as a creep. "I'll see you later?"

"Yes!" he answered, not opening his eyes. I waited another moment, and receiving no other gesture, I decided to just go into the library.

 **LIBRARY: ENTRANCE HALL**

Everything was big and expansive, but otherwise, it looked pretty normal. There was a deserted check-out desk to my left and a set of computers to the right. Ahead of me I could see a door marked PERIODICALS and some shelves where the book collection apparently started.

The floor was a black and white chessboard pattern, which I did not like at _all_.

Lucina and Rocky were to my right, at one of the computers. They turned and waved when I came in, but as I approached, Rocky turned back to the computer, typing away.

"Hey," I said. "What're you…"

"Ha!" Rocky suddenly shouted. "There it is, there it is!" He pointed at the screen with delight. Lucina smiled and clapped him on the shoulder. "It's my book!" he explained to me enthusiastically. "See?!"

I leaned over and looked at the screen: It showed a search result for the library's catalogue. The book's author was Harlan Horowitz, and the title was 11 to the Floor: A Guide to Incorporating Untraditional Time Signatures in EDM.

I had two burning questions I wanted to ask. Unfortunately, one of them was " _You_ wrote a book?" which some of my brain realized was a very insulting question, but not enough to stop me from asking it. But I was able to switch it over to "You _wrote_ a book?" which was merely confusing instead of offensive.

"Yeah, dude!" Rocky answered, luckily not picking up on my weirdness. "But I never met anyone who wanted to read it before Luce!"

Smiling Shyly, Lucina held up a message, _It's exactly the kind of thing I'm interested in._

Not that this wasn't nice and sweet, but I couldn't stop myself from asking my second question. "Your name is Harlan Horowitz?"

"Hmm?" Rocky blinked in confusion, then glanced back at the computer screen. "Oh! No, that's fake. I didn't want all the theory stuff to mix with the dance stuff, you know? I dunno if anyone even knows I wrote it besides my publisher." He shrugged. "Sold like five copies, but I'm proud of it."

"Yeah!" I agreed. "This is really cool, Rocky! I can't believe you always call yourself dumb when you've written something like this. You should give yourself more credit."

He laughed with embarrassment, and the gesture was eerily familiar in a way I couldn't place. I was momentarily dumbstruck when I realized it looked like something Morgan would do. "I really am dumb! It's just, I _get_ rhythm. I don't have to think about it." He laughed again, and it was very unlike Morgan and very like Rocky. "Which is good, because I suuuuuck at thinking."

Lucina swatted his arm with the back of her hand; the movement was playful, but the expression on her face was annoyed. I guess she didn't like him putting himself down.

"Ag! Okay, fine, fine!" He threw his hands up in the air, helplessly. "Either way, it's great you want to read the book, Luce."

I found myself smiling. I never got Rocky at all, but Lucina had a real connection with him, it seemed. I thought it'd make me miss Bepi even more, but I was just fine. "I'm going to keep exploring," I said. See you later?"

They waved, Lucina smiling kindly. I still felt all warm in my chest from that, but it was calming down.

 **LIBRARY: PERIODICALS ROOM**

The room was drab and utilitarian compared to the grand entrance hall. The walls were grey, and fluorescent lights flickered overhead. Chest-high racks of magazines filled the room, narrow corridors between them.

Jane stood in a corner, examining a magazine. When I came in, she looked up and raised an eyebrow, then just kept reading.

I walked over as she made a big show of not reacting to my presence. She was reading something called Genetics Research, very academic and sciencey-looking. "Hi," I said, and I gave her a moment to pretend she cared to not dignify my greeting with a response.

"Hello, dear," she said, finally. "I've found something quite interesting." She turned the journal around and showed me the inside; there was an article with a title that was absolute gobbledygook to me.

"Okayyyy…" I said, doing my best to understand what she meant. "Carrier gene 3U-B22 inhibits expression of cohedrition in mice. That sure is… something."

"Oh, don't worry about the content," she said, failing to even try to hide her delight at knowing something I didn't. "The important thing is the authors. Wei, Brooks, and Chin. They're my colleagues at work."

"Oh!" I leaned in, as if this new information would somehow help me understand the article better. "That's the sort of thing you do?"

"Oh, no no no." She turned the page back to herself and shook her head at it. "Carrier gene 3U-B22 is terribly boring. My work is much more important." She grimaced and mumbled, "Not that I _could_ be published. In order for my doctorate to be valid, I need a bachelor's. That's why I'm here." Her expression darkened. "Agnes Wei, you smug little harlot, you just wait until I get out…"

"Okay…" I blinked at her, confused. "So, why'd you show me?"

"Well, this article had been accepted for publication, but it hadn't come out yet by the time I left." She closed the journal and tapped it smartly with her finger. "Which means, this really is new. It's come out since we've been here."

I frowned as I considered that. "Hmm. So, it is possible to get in and out."

She frowned back. "Well. It's at least possible to get in."

"This is ridiculous," I said, shaking my head. "Why even bother? We're just here to do the killing game. What's…"

"Waaaugh!" Monokuma suddenly fell from the ceiling, shrieking. "How dare you!" he snapped, wagging his paw at me.

I pressed my hand against my chest, trying to slow my breathing back down. "Why."

"I get touchy when ingrates ingrate all over my beautiful campus! Countless automated systems to provide amenities and conveniences, just to make your college experience a rich one! The collection here is entirely up-to-date, as is appropriate for an institution of this caliber!"

"Ugh." Jane was clearly as over this bear as I was. "I don't know what your purpose is anymore, little toy."

Monokuma stomped his foot. "Purpose?!"

She just sighed and shrugged. "I understand the original point. Horrible violence, but from a smiling, plush bear! The contrast is unnerving and bizarre. But that's worn off by now."

"Shut up!" he fumed, shaking his fist at her. "You weren't so smug when I was pointing a shotgun at you!"

I expected that to work, but she just let out a small chuckle. "Darling, Zayn Malik would intimidate me with a shotgun pointed at my face. That doesn't mean anything. Your strategy has simply gotten old. If you hit the same note over and over, how do you expect it to keep working?"

"Well, you aren't supposed to have been here this long!" he shouted back. "If you idiots didn't have to be so complicated and special, we'd have finished up days ago like normal!"

Jane just waved her hand at him. "Oh, just shoo. I'm done with you." She turned her back and began making a big show of reading the scientific journal in her hands.

Monokuma fumed for a moment, sputtering and then jumped and disappeared. I turned to Jane, my mouth hanging open. "Damn!" I exclaimed in genuine shock. "That was amazing!"

"Hmmph." She glanced at me over the pages she was reading, her spirally eyes smirking. "I'm simply telling the truth. I'm concerned about being murdered, of course, but I'm simply finished being afraid of that silly bear."

And, surprising myself, I believed her.

 **LIBRARY: MAIN ROOM**

I bid farewell to Jane and headed back out, then went straight off into the main part of the library. The main room was enormous, with a huge set of stairs leading off right ahead of me, and another set of stairs going off to the side. Here, in the main room, things were grand and beautiful and elaborate, but ahead of me, there was a mess of shelves stretching off as far as I could see; there seemed to be no end to this building. A sign above the smaller staircase said "rare books" and up there, I could see a large glass window overlooking the room.

As I took it in, I saw Katy walking down the large set of stairs, looking a bit addled. When she saw me, she smiled widely and waved. "Saya! Hey, whatcha think of this place?"

I waved back as she approached. I reminded myself she was an ally. "It's… pretty overwhelming."

She laughed annoyingly. "I know! I just came from upstairs; it looks like there's three floors, all with just rows and rows of books! I would have loved this place when I was a kid; all I did was sit and read."

I reminded myself she might actually be the mastermind. "Hmm. Me too. I never actually liked it much, but I… well, I didn't really have anything else to do. My parents were gone a lot of the time, and I never really had a lot of friends."

Katy nodded. "I did have friends," she replied, "but I always felt kinda separate from them. I felt closer to the characters in books. I kept imagining myself with them."

"I guess I'm different," I said, raising an eyebrow. "My imagination has always been, like, patterns and numbers. Not stories and characters."

"Wow, yeah, we're totally different! I've always wanted to be a character in a book." She paused, then laughed nervously, scratching the back of her head. "Uh, sorry! That was a weird thing to say, wasn't it?"

"Uh… not really, but I don't think I get it," I said.

Katy looked like she was about to say something, but a thumping noise coming from above cut her off. We looked up in confusion.

Juliet was standing in the big window overlooking the room. She looked to be laughing uncontrollably. The thumping sound was her slamming her head against the glass.

"What on…" I started to say, but Katy was already running up the stairs. I followed.

 **LIBRARY: RARE BOOKS ROOM**

The stairs and hallway to the rare books room were wooden and shiny, like well-tended antiques. Once we opened the big, gothic doors and got inside the room itself, it was the same: old-looking columns, big oak desks, expensive-looking carpets. Juliet was sitting on the floor, her back leaning against the big wall-size window, howling with manic laughter. She held a small leather book in her hand.

Katy looked at me helplessly. "Saya, what… what do we do?"

I took a step forward. "Juliet…?" She did not react at all. She was laughing so hard, I don't think she could breathe. She finally looked as crazy as she is.

Monokuma suddenly jumped out from the main desk in the center of the room. "Hey!" he shouted, storming up to her and pointing at the book she carried. "Where did you get that!?"

Still laughing, Juliet gestured vaguely to a cloth sack on the floor next to her. Monokuma gaped at her. "You cheater! Cheat cheat cheat! You're not supposed to find those until…"

Juliet very suddenly stopped laughing. She stared coldly at the bear, a glint of insanity still in her expression. "You gave them to me, idiot. Ten minutes ago." She tilted her head at him in dawning understanding. "Oh, I see. That wasn't you, was it?"

Monokuma pressed his paws against his temples as if trying to remember something. "Yes," he intoned, buzzing slightly. "Yes, yes." He stomped his foot. "Well, I don't like deviations from protocol, but I can't disrupt the natural hierarchy of this school's administration! Enjoy your spoils, Miss Mountebank!" He darted off and disappeared.

Juliet laughed again, leaning her head back against the glass. I took a step towards her, and she suddenly grabbed the cloth bag and hugged it to herself tightly. "No," she hissed. "I get it now. I get it. These are what turn us. They're the final twist." She looked up at the ceiling, eyes wide. "I get it!" she called to nobody. "I can't…" and she broke off into chuckles again.

I looked closer at the book she still held under her arm. It was small and thin, and I could see pink lettering on the front. It looked like a diary… one a kid would have.

Katy frowned, pointing at the cloth sack. "What is it? What's so important?"

"Just secrets," Juliet answered. "Not tiny secrets, like the ones from earlier. Secrets for changing us."

Katy put her hands on her hips. "Don't call them little secrets!" she snapped. "Monokuma exposed Emily and Saya's pure hearts and left them hurting! That's not little!"

"Oh?" Juliet turned her gaze to me. "I remember you hurting, yeah. But Saya." She wiped a bit of drool from her chin. "Was your sexuality really your biggest secret? There wasn't anything else you expected?"

I felt ice in my chest, and I just stared back at her.

* * *

 _Saya stood on the front porch, not knocking on the door. She looked back at the lawn and hedges, well-manicured, obviously by a regular team of landscapers. It could have been any other rich person's house._

 _She kept not knocking. She knew he was home, because there were lights on, and she glimpsed movement through a window. Not for the first time, she wondered what on earth he did for a living, to afford all this but still be home in the middle of the day. To hear her mom tell it, he'd just disappear for weeks at a time, and the only story Saya ever got was "He's working."_

 _The problem was, every time she thought about knocking, she thought about knocking, and that terrified her so much, she couldn't bring herself to knock. She tried to stop thinking, and it didn't work._

 _She tried to convince herself it didn't even matter. No one even knew she was here. It wasn't like she expected anything. This was just to try, one last time. Just to get closure, or something. She didn't know what closure was, but apparently it helped._

 _The door opened, startling her, and suddenly he was there. He almost plowed right into her, but when he saw her he froze. The surprise on his face melted into cold contempt._

 _"Um," Saya said, "hey."_

 _He said nothing._

 _She kept trying. "I'm… I'm here because…"_

 _But he just turned around without a word, walked in the house, and closed the door behind him._

 _Saya was stock-still for a moment, but then, like a sandstorm, she felt the anger. She didn't even know why she was angry; it was stupid to get angry about something you should have expected. But she was beyond caring about that. She opened the door and followed him in._

 _She saw him walking up a set of stairs, his back to her, and she went after him. "Hey!" she shouted. "I'm… stop! Stop walking away!"_

 _He did stop, but he didn't turn around. She was bewildered for a second, not expecting this, but she quickly recovered. "I… I'm here to tell you that I got into New Hope University. The special program. I'm just one of sixteen in the whole country." She took a step forward, clenching both fists. "And I did it_ without you _. You didn't have_ anything to do with it _." Energy was building up; she felt swirly and hot. "This is the last time I'm ever going to talk to you, and…"_

 _He resumed walking up the stairs, just turned into another room and shut the door behind him. With a wordless shriek of anger, she followed him and banged on the door, shouting. After a moment, she thought to check and found that it turned. He hadn't even locked the door._

 _She swung the door open. It was some sort of study, and he stood near a huge, wooden bookcase in the middle of the room. He was looking at the rows of books, making it as clear as possible his attention was fully captured by deciding what to read, and not anything else._

 _"Don't you…" she snarled, storming up to him. "Don't turn your back! Listen to me!"_

 _Apparently deciding what book to read, he reached up and started pulling one out._

 _She noticed she had tears on her cheeks, and that, in turn, somehow led her to realize she was absolutely, uncontrollably furious. She was angrier than she had ever been in her life, angrier than she thought it was possible to be angry. She grabbed his hand firmly, screaming, "Look at me!"_

 _He finally did._

* * *

Juliet smiled lazily at me, that madness still in her eyes.

"I don't know what you're talking about," I said. "I don't have any secrets."

She just kept smiling.

* * *

 _ **FACT 1** : Monokuma opened up the West quad, which contains a huge library._  
 _ **FACT 2:** New periodical editions have been brought to campus since we arrived, suggesting there is, in fact, a way to get on and off campus._  
 _ **FACT 3:** The mastermind gave Juliet a bunch of things which she calls secrets, and she says they're "meant to turn us." She was drastically affected by some book she read, a child's diary._  
 _ **FACT 4:** Lucina still has feelings for me, I think._


	38. Mimesis in Theory and Practice, Part B

**LIBRARY: RARE BOOKS ROOM**

Katy noticed my reaction, and she stepped between me and Juliet. "No!" she snapped. "This is stupid! Saya, don't listen, she's just messing with you!"

"Of course I am," Juliet leered. "And I'm glad we agree that it's all stupid, cutie. That's the first step to getting it."

She pushed herself to her feet , always hugging the small book close to her, as if afraid it's blow away in some terrible wind. She hoisted the cloth bag over her shoulder like a demented, sexy Santa Claus and lurched over to the big desk in the middle of the room. Katy kept herself between me and Juliet the entire way.

There was some kind of computer set-up on the desk, and Juliet sat down heavily in front of it, fiddling with the keys. She set the sack down on the floor next to her, but she softly placed the book lovingly on the table.

"What is that?" Katy asked, pointing at the book. "Why were you laughing when we came in?"

"You should know," Juliet answered, twisting some dials on a module next to the computer. "You're a writer. Some of your books have plot twists. Good ones! A good twist and a good joke are pretty much just the same thing."

"If it's so funny, let us read it," I said.

Juliet waved her hand at me dismissively. "Ah, you wouldn't get it. It's kind of a 'you had to be there' thing. Now shush."

She pushed a button on the module, clicked the mouse, and leaned forward, putting her mouth near a metal object I vaguely realized was a microphone. "Attention, classmates," she announced, and I could hear her voice echoing out of unseen speakers out the window. "According to the security cameras, you are all here in this building. This is Juliet Mountebank, and you can consider me your... teaching assistant for the rest of the term. I'll be the one handing out your assignments."

She made eye contact with me and grinned; I was not at all sure why. "I've been given some very important information. When it's ready, I will let you know how to access it. It's your choice whether you access it or not, but trust me: this is information you'll want to know.

"One more thing," she added. "This program is... much cleverer than I'd ever thought. But the mastermind?" She laughed trippingly. "I have absolutely no idea what the mastermind is doing. Whoever you are, you're absolutely a delight. Mwah!" And with that kissy sound, she clicked off the speaker and sat back in her big mahogany chair, drumming her fingers together like a mad scientist or something.

"What the hell are you doing?" I asked. "What is this? What did you mean about the mastermind?"

"You heard the bear," she purred. "We weren't supposed to get these until later. We have this perfect sequence, this planned syllabus, every element in place... and it's been mysteriously undercut by the very person who set it up. It's intriguing!"

Katy just glared and pointed at the cloth sack. "What's your game with that? If you want us to read those, just give them to us."

She raised an eyebrow. "Well, I need to fix them. They're dangerous right now."

"Fix them?!" Katy yelped. "Why? What are you going to do?"

"You can have yours now, if you want," Juliet replied breezily. She briefly searched through the bag and pulled out a thin, sealed envelope with Katy's name on it. "I wouldn't recommend taking it until I've had a chance to work on it, but it's up to you."

Katy grabbed the envelope, glaring. "And Lucina's."

Juliet dutifully reached into the bag and pulled out a DVD (a DVD?). Katy snatched it away, too. "I have no intention of looking at these," she declared. "But I won't let you mess with us however you want."

Juliet just shrugged, then looked at me. "Saya? This is your only chance."

I felt a little frozen, but for some reason I relaxed, too. "I'll leave it with you," I answered. "I gotta say, I'm curious what you're up to."

"Curiosity is important in college," Juliet answered, smiling. She sat back, all professionalism. "I'm glad you came to my office hours. Please feel free to let me know if you have any other questions."

 **LIBRARY: MAIN ROOM**

As Katy and I slowly walked through the hall and back down the stairs, I glanced over at her. She was holding the envelope and DVD tenderly, like she was worried they'd break. She glanced over and caught me looking; I quickly looked away but I'm not sure why.

"Do you think I was dumb to take these?" she asked.

"Uh." I shrugged. "I don't know. Um. But why did you take Lucina's too?"

She blinked, then blushed slightly. "Lucina just... she really hates Juliet. She's been really, really clear about it. She wouldn't want to play this game, whatever it is."

"One of those things she signs at you that no one else understands, huh?" I almost but thankfully did not say. Instead, I just nodded. It really did sound reasonable.

Katy was silent for a moment, and then she cautiously said, "Do you think yours is about your dad?"

I stopped in place, shocked for a moment. "What?"

"Um, your... twist, whatever Juliet called it. Your super awful information. It's probably something we're... vulnerable about, right?"

I thought for a moment, then nodded. "Yeah. I guess it would be about my dad, then."

"Me too," she agreed. At my look, she blushed and waved her hands frantically. "No no, I don't mean we're the same! I know you've had it really really hard, way harder than me!" She anxiously brought a hand up to her locket; a nervous habit I'd noticed a long time ago. "It's just... I was really lucky because I had the opposite. My dad's always been really supportive. And especially when I came out to him, I was really afraid... but he was great." She held up her envelope vaguely. "I guess I'm just scared this'll say he actually thought something different."

I crossed my arms across my stomach and regarded her. "But you don't want to read it to be sure?"

She shook her head confidently. "No. It's probably a lie anyway! But even if it's true, I don't want to know."

I frowned. "I hate not knowing things."

Katy raised an eyebrow. "Really? You say you don't know things all the time! Like in trials? I've always respected that about you."

I wasn't sure what to say, but luckily she leaned in close. "Hey. Um. Will you take me with you when you read your thing?"

I leaned back, surprised. "What?"

"I guess... it doesn't have to be me. But will you take someone with you who knows about your dad?"

I felt my eyes narrowing. "Why?"

"Just so you won't be alone. You can get support."

I just looked at her for a minute and then sighed. "Sure." She smiled warmly, and I just wasn't able to hate her. "Hey," I said, "I'm stuck on something."

She tilted her head cutely. "Hm?"

"Well... Monokuma," I replied, shaking my head ruefully. "I thought I basically got his deal, but then he was broken, and then he wasn't, and now he's... it's like he's been annoyed things aren't the way he expects. And I just don't get it."

"Yeah," Katy said, nodding. "It is weird. But why are you asking me?"

"Well... I've been thinking of him as a program. That's how I work; I'm all patterns and structures. But he's kind of not just a program, he's a person. And you're good at people. I thought maybe you had some kind of insight."

She screwed up her face in thought, tapping her chin idly. "I'm not sure. He's not really a person, either. But I guess... I guess the first thing I think of is motivation, what people want. That's the most important thing in stories. And Monokuma... he just seems to mostly want things to go the way he expects. It's like, his programming only makes sense if things are going a certain way, and he doesn't know what to do outside that."

"Huh." I considered that a moment. "He does seem more comfortable... uh, 'comfortable'... in trials. Those are structured. Do you really think that's it?"

Katy shrugged. "There's a lot of real people who're wired that way, they just freak out when they don't know what to expect, because, like, all weirdness is terrifying chaos to them. Most homophobes and transphobes are like that. I don't really get it."

"Yeah, me neither." I realized something, frowning. "Huh. Ashley and Earl were like that. I mean, not homophobes or anything, but their whole deal makes a little more sense thinking about that."

"Yeah." Katy paused. "Well, except for him murdering her."

"Yeah. Except for that."

"But," Katy added, "just because Monokuma's acting like this, that doesn't mean we're off the rails. Him acting like this could be part of the whole program. I can't imagine why, but I don't understand anything about this place."

 **DORM: SAYA'S ROOM**

After meeting up with the others and explaining what we knew of Juliet's... whatever, I spent the rest of the day by myself. There was a nippiness in the air outside that felt very late October. I tried to remember how long I'd been in this place and couldn't, but late October could be right. Maybe it was almost Halloween? The very concept of Halloween felt like a dream, after living in this place.

I fell asleep easily that night. In my dream, Bepi stood in an elaborate, huge kitchen, pacing nervously. Therion stood nearby, looking extremely uncomfortable in an ill-fitting suit. Nicole sat on a counter, grinning.

"Why'd you even tell your boss you were married?" she asked. "Especially on the day he's supposed to come over for dinner?"

"He loves video games!" Bepi yelped frantically. "I was trying to impress him!" He whipped his gaze to Therion. "Okay, let's rehearse!" Bepi snapped. "When did we meet?"

"1985," Therion answered dryly.

"What is our special romantic song?!"

"The Chipmunks Christmas Song."

"What do we like to do together?!"

"Murder people."

Bepi took a deep breath. "Okay. This'll work! Just act like yourself, but married to me!"

"Can I watch this disaster play out?" Nicole asked.

"Yes, as long as you say nothing!" Bepi snapped. He started to say more, but the doorbell rang. "That's him!" he yelped. "To the front door, everyone!"

They scampered to the living room and to the front door, skidding to a halt. Bepi brushed off his clothes, composed himself, and opened the door.

Earl marched in. He put his hands on his hips, inspecting the three of them.

"Uh... hi, boss!" Bepi greeted hesitantly. "We're so glad you could make it for dinner!"

Earl just looked Therion up and down. Therion stared back, blankly.

Finally, Earl laughed. "Delightful! And this is your husband, is he?!"

Bepi nodded. "Yes! This is Ther..."

Earl cut him off with roaring laughter. "What asinine foolishness! It's not in this man's nature to be a husband! Your japery fills my evening with amusement!" He clapped Bepi on the shoulder roughly.

Nicole raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean, not in his nature?"

"Why, we all have a nature!" Earl shouted. "Some are cold, some are slimy. Some ply brutal deception, some sing with confident timbre! Our nature is what makes us... us!"

"Not a thing," Therion interjected.

"Now honey, let's not... bring down the mood," Bepi said, his eyelid twitching.

Earl ignored him. "What? Is my english... a nature, yes? A Wesen! The soul of your heart!"

"Not a thing," Therion repeated. There was an awkward pause, and he continued. "Or. Maybe a thing, but if so, not meaningful. If nature is just 'way you are,' and 'way you are' is just 'things you're likely to do,' then hooray, 'you're likely to do what you're likely to do': inane."

"What foolishness!" Earl barked. "Surely I have a nature, and it is different from yours!"

"Untrue." Therion scratched his left shoulder. "Just think you have nature. Same thing in practice."

Earl gawked at Therion in bafflement, then slowly turned his head to glare in anger at Bepi. "Perfetto!" he yelled. "This is the worst dinner I've ever had with an employee and his fake spouse! You can forget about that promotion!" He stormed out.

The last thing I remember before waking up was the sound of Nicole's laughter.

Not long after getting out of bed, I was surprised to hear a knock at the door. "Who is it?" I called, walking over.

"Um... everyone?" Rocky's voice called back. I opened the door and, yes, all of my surviving classmates (except Juliet, of course) were huddled around.

"Good morning!" Rodrigo said. "Friend Rocky and I thought it was a good idea to restart a common breakfast and dinner time!"

"Yeah, it may not keep us totally safe," Rocky added, "but it's not like we're any good all spread out."

I found myself smiling, even after I noticed Lucina and Katy were holding hands. "I could eat," I replied, stepping out into the hallway.

 **STUDENT UNION: CAFETERIA**

I got my usual bowl of boring cereal and there was a moment of intense sadness just afterwards that surprised me. When we did this before, I would get my food and then decide who to sit with. But now there was no decision. Just one group to sit with.

When we were all settled, Lucina held up a note for us all to see, _Anyone have any thoughts about what to do next?_

"Ay," Rodrigo answered. "Our goal is twofold: to prevent murders and to escape."

"In that order," Rocky added.

"Yes," Rodrigo confirmed. "I was thinking our priority should..."

"Did someone mention my name?!" a shrill voice bellowed. We turned to see Monokuma standing in the doorway.

"Absolutely no one said anything even close to your name," Jane answered, shuddering in disgust as his mere presence.

"You were thinking it!" Monokuma yelled, waddling up to our table. As he got closer, I realized he was wearing large earphones. The earphones were obviously not designed for his bear-head, and they sat, off-balance and not fitting well. Music blared from them, loudly.

"...a baller, when things get hard I need someone to help me out, instead of a guy like you who don't know what a man's about! Can you pay my bills? Can you pay my telephone bills? Can you pay my automobills? If you did then maybe we could chill..."

"Holy shit," Rocky said. "Are you listening to Destiny's Child? Throwback!"

"...And did that person just say 'automobills?'" I added.

"Well, I have to!" the bear snapped, ignoring me. "We can't listen to it in the lab anymore! What else am I supposed to do?"

"Uh, not listen to a song that says 'automobills?'" I suggested.

"Shut up!" Monokuma yipped. "You deviant little children will never understand! You're always questioning the right way of doing things!"

"What did we do?" Katy asked, offended.

"Be all weird!" Monokuma growled. He pointed right at me. "It's probably your fault! You've made everything go wrong since the very start! Everything you do just makes my job harder!"

"Oh, go away," Jane said contemptuously. "You're a terrible little thing and everyone hates you."

"I am not..." But a beeping sound echoing through the room cut him off. "What?!" He stomped his little feet angrily. "That... that was a Monomail! I didn't send that!"

Rocky already has his tablet out and was poking at it thoughtfully. "Yeah. Looks like it's from... Juliet?"

"What!?" Monokuma stomped around in a circle, waving his paws around. "How could there be a Monomail that doesn't come from Monokuma?! Her name isn't Juliet Monobank!" He paused. "...actually, it's kind of close, isn't it?"

"Friend Jane," Rodrigo said, looking up from his tablet. "Foul Juliet has summoned you to the library."

"It seems she has," Jane replied. She slipped her tablet in her coat pocket and gently dabbed her mouth with a napkin. "Saya dear, will you accompany me?"

"Uh, what?" I asked, but Monokuma, who apparently was annoyed at being ignored, began singing loudly along with his music.

"I DON'T THINK YOU DO, SOOOOOO YOU AND ME ARE THROUGH!"

"Ugh." Jane stood and grabbed me by the arm, practically pulling me forcefully out of the cafeteria.

 **LIBRARY: ENTRANCE HALL**

As soon as we walked in, hidden speakers crackled to life. "Well now," Juliet's voice resounded musically. "Didn't want to face your past alone, Jane?"

"More like, I didn't want to follow the instructions of a serial killer without another potential target," Jane called out. At my glare, she just shrugged.

"Aren't you worried about Saya learning your deepest, darkest secrets?" Juliet asked, sounding a bit surprised.

"Honestly, I can't say why, but no," Jane answered, glancing at a nonexistent watch. "Do you have something to give me, or not?"

"I do!" Juliet's voice sounded pleased and amused, which worried me. "Please go into the main stacks, up the stairs. Take the first right, then the second left, and then the first left. I've set something up for you there." Her voice crackled to silence.

"Hm." Jane put her hands on her hips, frowning. "Well, off to the slaughter, I suppose. Take out your stun gun, will you darling?"

"Huh?" I looked at her blankly.

"You didn't bring your stun gun?"

"Um. Was I supposed to?"

Jane pinched the bridge of her nose. "No no. It's fine. Just... just use your sinewy bulk to protect us if we get attacked."

"...Sinewy bulk?" I asked, but she was already walking away.

 **LIBRARY: STACKS**

When we got to the stacks, I was glad Juliet gave us directions, because it would have been extremely easy to get lost in here. I very, very much did not like the feeling of being surrounded by a bunch of bookshelves.

But luckily, I couldn't really focus on that, because Jane's refusal to even look at me (except to give me knowing smirks) was getting really infuriating.

"...because 'sinewy bulk' doesn't even make sense!" I snapped. "It's a contradiction!"

"Really,' Jane tut-tutted, walking ahead of me. "So sensitive, goodness." She gave me that smirk. "I'm sure some people enjoy a girl with sinewy bulk. Somewhere. Probably."

I could only grunt as I stormed after her, but was surprised when she stopped short. I almost walked right into her.

She looked at me expectantly. "Well?"

I raised an eyebrow. "Well, what?"

"Well, this is the last corner," she said, indicating the bookshelf hallway heading off to the left. "Do you really think I'm foolish enough to go right where Juliet sends me? You're the hero. You go first."

"I'm the hero?" I asked. "I'm about as far away from a hero as you can get."

Jane shook her head. "Don't fish for compliments. Giuseppe was correct in his trial: you're strong and intelligent, and it's silly for you to act like you're not." Her expression flickered just for a moment. "Some of us are... are far more cowardly (though ravishingly beautiful). And we must be able to depend on you."

I looked for any source of deception and found none. I did see something else, though: genuine fear. I saw my own face reflected in her spirally eyes, and... there wasn't any fear there. Huh.

"All right," I said. I cautiously stepped forward and around the corner.

I wasn't quite prepared for what I saw. There was a wheelchair and a hospital bed set up in the middle of the hallway. I stood for a moment, bemused, then yelled over my shoulder, "It looks safe!"

Jane came out and looked equally perplexed when she saw the set-up. We walked closer. There was a soft teddy bear on the bed, next to a small stack of paper.

"Uh, Juliet?" I called out. "Where'd you get all this stuff?"

"Around!" Juliet's voice crackled out. "Bought a lot of it at the student stores!"

"When did you set all of it up?!"

"When you don't sleep, you have a lot of extra time in a day!"

By this time, Jane had begun to examine the papers on the bed. She picked them up, reading through.

Her facial expression as she read was... odd. First she looked confused, then appalled... and then angry. Very angry, trembling with fury. But then, the anger faded. Her mouth hung open, and she traced a finger over the words as if making sure they were real.

"Jane?" I ventured. She didn't seem to hear me. She dropped the papers on the ground and turned away, leaning over the bed, her hair draped in front of her face.

Still bewildered, I knelt to look at the paper. It was just science gibberish to me.

"Jane?" I repeated. I looked up; she was facing me now, wiping away a brown tear. She held the teddy bear softly. "What is..."

She held up an index finger, looking down. She sniffled, took a deep breath, and then raised her eyes to look at me. "Yes. I'm fine."

"What is it?" I held up a random paper. "I don't get this."

"It's... it's two things." She idly patted the head of the teddy bear; it was bizarre to watch her doing something so childish. "Dear, do you recall the story I told you before? About my hand?"

"Your one finger is five fingers."

"Indeed. It inspired me to stop my... experiments." She paused for a moment. "This is evidence that my materials were sabotaged."

"Sabotaged?"

"By my own parents."

I gaped at her. "What?"

"They were always quite adamant I stop my... quest. I had no interest in listening; I insisted they were betraying Richard. They fixed it so things were more painful."

"Jane... I'm..."

"Wait." She set the teddy bear down, seeming to remember her dignity. "As I said, there was more. A printout of the experiment I had planned next, along with recent research and some gaps filled in. And... it's clear. The conclusion inescapable." She sighed. "It would have killed me."

"Killed you?"

She nodded, grimly. "Quite agonizingly, too. If my parents hadn't stopped me, Richard would have had to grieve me in the last year of his life."

I realized I was kind of hugging myself. "How do you feel?"

She let out a small laugh. "I'm afraid I have no idea. When I saw what they did, I was so angry. I've never been so angry; I'd have done anything to hurt them. But then... I don't know what I feel now."

 **LIBRARY: MAIN ROOM**

After sitting with Jane for a few more minutes, she asked to be left alone. I was concerned, but I had other things to do anyway. I snaked my way back out of the labyrinth of bookshelves and headed to the big, main room. I was extremely relieved to be away from all the bookshelves.

I looked up at the big window of the rare books room. Juliet stood there, looking down at me; she was wearing a bathrobe and pajamas, and she looked to be eating beans out of a can.

Grimacing, I headed upstairs.

 **LIBRARY: RARE BOOKS ROOM**

The huge doors were locked, but after I knocked, Juliet opened them and beckoned me inside. I was kind of surprised... but not as surprised as I was when I took in the state of the room.

To start with, there was a pile of various cans of food and bottled water over by the wall, with several changes of clothes hung up around it. The big, middle desk had a thick stack of papers that looked official and important. But none of that was the first thing that caught my attention.

Juliet closed the door behind me and brushed her finger along my arm as she walked by. "Notice my nooses, did you?"

I couldn't do much but blink. "Yes. Yes I did notice your nooses."

Six nooses, hanging from beams up near the ceiling. All in a row, all slightly waving around in the air conditioning. There was a stack of books underneath each one.

Juliet giggled coquettishly.

I found my center again, I crossed my arms and sighed. "You know what? I'm not going to ask about the nooses. You want me to ask about the nooses." I pointed to the food. "I want to ask about that. Why do you have those?"

"I'm making this my... headquarters," she answered, sitting down behind the desk. "With... very few exceptions, no one's allowed in here, and I'm not going out there." She gestured to the computer equipment. "I can see and hear what's happening through the whole building, I can use the P.A. system, and... thanks to a little gift, I can even send emails."

"Yeahhh," I replied, scratching the back of my head. "Monokuma noticed you did that. He didn't seem to like it very much."

"Yeah, I know," she said. "He emailed me about it. I'll reply later, if I get around to it."

I squinted, not wanting to ask this next question but not able to stop myself. "Wait, if you just are going to live in here, where are you going to... um..."

Grinning, she held up a red Dixie cup. "A little trick I learned from an ex," she explained.

I wasn't sure if I was disgusted or horrified, and either way she seemed delighted by my reaction. "Oh, don't worry. I'll be venturing out for short trips. I have to finish setting up all your dioramas, after all."

"Off in the stacks?" I asked. "Um... that seems kind of dangerous. It'd be really easy to get surprised there."

Juliet swiped a stack of paper off the desk, revealing a very large, very sharp butcher knife. "Oddly, I'm not worried."

I wasn't sure what to say.

She tilted her head curiously. "But you're not here to talk about my lifestyle, yes? You want to ask me about Jane's... information."

"And everyone else's," I clarified.

She just shrugged. "The diorama was just flavor, and I hope you'll all forgive my flair for the dramatic. The rest of it is just what I told you before. The information that I was given, but... amended."

"Amended?"

"Blunted." She gestured vaguely over to a stack of books next to the desk which I realized were genetics textbooks and journals. "It's not a simple process, thus why I need to call you all in one-by-one." She frowned. "Well. That's not the only reason. Jane needed to be first, because she's so agitated by the idea of being ignorant, she would seek out my information for sure. Get the ball rolling."

"Why is this so important?" I asked impatiently. "What are you up to?"

She laughed. "Something that feels very strange!" She stopped laughing and looked at me very seriously. "Saya, am I a woman?"

Goddamn, she was just never going to lose the ability to completely stun me into silence, was she?

She stood up and pulled open her robe, showing off her T-shirt and pajama pants. "I look like a woman," she said. "Right? If you saw me, you'd say I was a woman?" She noticed my expression and sighed. "You said you take being a woman for granted. It's like you can act however you want, and you're not in love or anything."

"Um." I anxiously rubbed my sweater. "I'm not sure I'm really qualified to have this conversation, if you want me to be totally honest."

"It's just..." she shook her head sharply, a look of frustration on her face. She glanced at the desk; I noticed, for the first time, that small book she had before. Seeing it more clearly, it was definitely a child's diary. "Okay. Let me ask you this. Which would you rather be, a saint or a hero?"

"Uh... what?" I asked. "Is this another english class thing?"

"No. A saint is someone who does good because they are good, deep down inside. It would never occur to them to be anything but good." She made little scales with both hands, pushing one down like it was full of a heavy weight. "A hero is someone who does good, but who isn't good inside. They fight themselves to be virtuous."

I frowned, leaning away from her with distrust. "Why are you asking this?"

"A saint, right? You'd rather be a saint."

I threw my hands up in the air. "I guess? That way I wouldn't have to worry about it. But..."

"Not me." She hugged herself. "I want to worry about it. I want to struggle and win. I want to be a hero... but that's for men. Men are the heroes. To be a woman, I have to be like a man."

I wanted to just roll my eyes and declare I had no idea what she was talking about, because I absolutely did not have any idea what she was talking about. But her face was so sad, I felt like it'd be cruel for me to do that.

"It's just..." she said, and I had a very strange feeling that she was reaching out to another human being for the first time in her entire life. "...it never made sense. In retrospect, it's so obvious: it never made any sense at all."

And then the mask was back on, just like that. She smirked and shrugged. "Oh well! When I meet my true love, he'll explain it to me. I know it."

 **MAIN QUAD**

I decided to go for a run to work out my stress, but it didn't really help. After showering, I looked at my tablet to see an email had gone out: Juliet had summoned Rodrigo to the library.

Concerned, I headed out into the quad to make sure things were okay, and I ran into Lucina and Katy.

"Rodrigo just took Rocky with him," Katy explained. Then she grinned slyly and said, "Isn't that sweet? Do you think there's something starting there?"

Off to her side, Lucina glared when she said that. I felt awkward. "Um... I don't know. I just hope everyone's okay."

Lucina scribbled out a note that said, _Me too. I wish everyone wasn't going along with Juliet._

"Yeah, Jane seemed like she was hit pretty hard," I said, then I frowned. "Hm, well, not actually as hard as she could have been? She said she didn't know how she felt."

Lucina grimaced, then wrote out, _Well, everyone keep an eye on her. And Rodrigo, too. I don't know if I trust anyone who's read whatever she prepared for them._

I felt awkward again, but Katy just smiled warmly, grabbed Lucina's arm, and hugged it to her own chest. "So cool!" she exclaimed, looking up at Lucina with doe eyes of wonder. "You're always looking out for everyone! Your heart is so beautiful!"

Lucina's expression wavered between soft, childlke appreciation and unsettled anxiety. I forced out a laugh and started to walk away. "You two look like you want some time alone," I called, waving. "I'll see you at dinner!"

I didn't look back.

 **STUDENT UNION: CAFETERIA**

Dinner was less unpleasant than I'd worried. Jane was maybe a little more quiet than usual, but she seemed pretty much fine. Katy was friendly to everyone, and Lucina seemed in brighter spirits. But... Rodrigo and Rocky didn't show up.

I was just about to suggest going to look for them, when Rocky walked in. He waved and walked up to the table we were all at.

"Hey!" he greeted, looking mostly just confused. "Sorry I'm late! I forgot we were doing the dinner thing again, and I got caught up talking to Roddy."

"Oh did you?" Katy asked, grinning like a stoat, but I quickly stepped in.

"What happened?" I asked. "Where's Rodrigo? Is he okay?"

"Uh. Yeah." Rocky waved his hands around vaguely as he searched for the right words. "It was just... weird? Yeah, weird. He said he wanted to be alone for a little while."

I exchanged an unsettled look with Lucina. "What'd Juliet show him?"

"Well, it was in this maze of bookshelves, first of all," Rocky explained. "And we walk to the place, and there's, like... this weird shrine thing set up with like crosses and whadyacallit, the old, like, knight-cups?"

"Goblets?" Jane suggested.

"Yeah! Goblets!" Rocky nodded in appreciation. "And there was this packet of paper there, and, um..." He sighed. "Okay, so, like, you know how Rodrigo was born in a small village in Spain and was brought as a baby to a weird old monastery?"

I raised an eyebrow. "Yeah?"

"Well, he wasn't," Rocky said plainly. "He's from Ohio."

I opened my mouth to reply and couldn't. Glancing around the room, I saw everyone else was in the same boat. "What?"

"He's from Ohio," Rocky repeated. "All that shit, with the monastery and Spain and the monks? It was a lie. It was some kind of government program."

Katy put a hand to her forehead, looking so confused she might fall down. "Um, slow down a second. Rodrigo was raised in a fake monastery by fake monks because... the government put him there?"

"His parents signed him away." Rocky replied. "Some kind of experimental thing to create a new kind of soldier?"

"Whoa." I stood up, feeling shock in my chest. "Wait. A child soldier program?"

Rocky paused, then grimaced. "I didn't think of that," he said. "But yeah, it did say something about child soldier program. Raising some kind of perfect holy warrior."

Before I could really process that, Rocky waved his hands. "Hey, wait, that isn't all!" he said. "There was this whole other part! Like, a week after his parents signed him away, they complained and said they didn't really understand the contract and they wanted him back. They've sued the government, like, twelve times since he was a kid. And they spent a year in jail because they broke in to try to get him! They pretended to be some kind of agent; there were these crazy security pictures of these two people standing like in a Medieval kitchen."

"They worked that hard to try to get him, but they never could?" Katy asked.

"Oh yeah," Rocky said. "There were all these documents. Lawyer stuff, I didn't understand it."

I sat down, trying to process this. Jane hmmphed, rubbing her chin in thought. "Well. Rodrigo learns his entire life is a lie, and then learns his parents loved him, at exactly the same moment. What on earth is Juliet up to?"

Lucina banged a fist against the table, looking furious. She held up a message, _I don't know but we should not trust her. This won't end well._

Katy reached over and touched Lucina's shoulder softly. It was a tender moment, but Lucina didn't relax a single muscle.

 **STUDENT UNION: MAIN ENTRANCE**

After a suddenly tense dinner, we dispersed. I tried to catch Lucina's gaze, but she didn't look at me. She didn't seem to be looking at anyone.

On my way out, I saw Jane standing casually near the exit. She turned and pretended to just notice me, and she walked over, languidly. "Darling," she said.

"Um." I suddenly felt kinda weird again. "Hi, Jane. What's up?"

She paused. "I realized I never thanked you for coming with me this morning. I am... grateful for your help." She paused. "Am I saying this right? It's not exactly in my nature to do this."

"You're fine," I answered, feeling myself relax and smile a little. "And maybe if you keep repeating stuff about how you don't really care about anyone, it'll finally come true."

"Wha..." she sputtered, blushing. "I most certainly... I do not deign to concern myself with... with unscientific plebes!"

"Uh huh." I was still smiling, and it felt good. "Well, I don't care about you, either, so you can relax."

"Well." She huffed, regaining her dignity somewhat. "I am quite relieved to hear it."

There was another pause. I expected her to walk away, but she didn't.

"Hey," I said, surprising myself, "have you ever played chess?"

She blinked at me in surprise. "Eh?"

"I have a chess set in my room. Want to come up and play some games?"

"Really?" she scoffed. "Games?"

"Oh, c'mon," I said. "I'll go easy on you.

She grimaced in that very identifiable way of someone failing to convincingly grimace. "I suppose I have to find a way to pass the time, anyway. Lead the way, darling."

She turned and began to walk towards the exit, but then she realized she'd just asked me to 'lead the way.' Blushing, haughty, she stood aside to let me pass, acting for all the world like everything was completely on purpose.

 **DORM: SAYA'S ROOM**

I lay on my back and stared at the ceiling. My back ached. Or maybe my stomach? Some muscle in there had just done a whole lot of work it wasn't used to doing.

"Huh," I mused.

Jane cuddled next to me, her head on my shoulder. "Indeed," she said.

I took a deep breath, trying to wrap my head around things. Finally, I just said, "Your one finger is five fingers."

She laughed, maybe the first genuine one I'd ever heard from her. She had been very uncharacteristically shy when she'd taken off her clothes, especially her gloves. Her skin had bizarre patches and colors and textures, but it actually kinda worked.

I painfully forced myself to a seated position; she petulantly refused to release me for a second, but then she sat up herself. "Well," I said, walking over to the first part of my clothes I could find.

"Darling," she said sharply. I looked at her, and she was sitting on the bed, leaning towards me. She tapped her index finger against her puckered lips. "A goodnight kiss?" she cooed, her Emily-eyes big and adorable.

I was confused for a moment, and then I felt myself beginning to sweat. "Oh, um..." She raised an eyebrow and I forced myself to continue. "Uh... wait. Like, let's be on the same page here, all right? I... kind of don't..."

She rolled her eyes, stood, walked over, and smooched me. "I am perfectly fine with this just being a killing game thing," she said smoothly, bending down to pick up her underwear. "I simply am not the kind of girl who will hook up without insisting on a goodnight kiss."

I was a bit slack-jawed for a moment, then I smiled and nodded. I half-dressed and headed into my bathroom.

I checked myself out in the mirror as I listened to her get dressed. I remembered my very first day here, before everything, when I did the same thing. My reflection looked... not at all different from how it'd looked then. I kind of thought it would, but it didn't.

I heard a noise from outside, and it actually took me a second to realize it was a knocking on the door. I began to walk back into the bedroom, but I froze when I heard the door actually open.

"Oh, good evening, darling," Jane's voice said.

I dashed out into the bedroom, hoping I wouldn't find exactly the thing that I found. Jane stood at the door, casually smiling at my guest. She wore her trench coat, but only a bra underneath it, and unlike before, she did not look remotely self-conscious.

And Lucina stood in the doorway, looking back and forth between us with an expression I absolutely could not read.

* * *

 _ **FACT 5:** Juliet has moved into the rare books room in the library. She has access to security cameras, a P.A. system, and (apparently thanks to the mastermind) email._

 _ **FACT 6:** Juliet will present our 'secret information' one-by-one. She claims she has to 'blunt' them before she will let us see them._

 _ **FACT 7:** Katy took hers and Lucina's information without letting Juliet do anything with it. Both claim they have no intentions to look at it._

 _ **FACT 8:** Jane's secret information was that her parents sabotaged the last experiment she performed on herself, causing her to give up trying to save her brother. But, it also said she would have soon died if she'd kept experimenting._

 _ **FACT 9:** Rodrigo's secret information was that his monastery was actually part of the U.S. child soldier program. But, it also said that his parents have tried to get him back almost immediately after the government took him._


	39. Mimesis in Theory and Practice, Part C

**DORM: SAYA'S ROOM**

Jane looked absolutely delighted as she gathered up her clothes and excused herself. She weaved a path between me and Lucina, both standing there, stock-still, awkward. She opened the door, waved goodbye, and stepped out into the hallway. It wasn't until the door closed that I could hear her laughter.

"I'm... actually kind of impressed with her restraint," I remarked. Lucina didn't react.

I sighed, walked over to her, and took her hand. I led her over to a nearby chair and positioned her in front of it. I sat down in the adjacent chair, smiling as warmly as I could.

Lucina blinked, looking completely bewildered about the concept of sitting down, then regained herself. She plopped down in the chair, fiddling with her paper and pen, before writing out, _Am I being weird? I'm being totally weird._

"Uh... a little, but it's fine," I said, giving out a little forced laugh. "It's an awkward situation! It's fine."

Still not looking directly at me, she wrote, _I shouldn't be weird! You can do what you want. I want you to do what you want!_

"If it helps, I'm probably as surprised as you are," I said. "I didn't think I'd ever be friends with Jane, much less, uh, hookup-friends."

She held up a message, _Are you dating her?_

"Oh, uh no!" I exclaimed quickly. "No. For many, many reasons: no."

 _Then why did you do that?_ She seemed to regret showing me that one, and she pulled it away quickly.

I couldn't react for a moment, but eventually I shrugged. "Killing game, I guess? It kinda felt so weird someone was into me, especially a girl, I just went with it."

Lucina glared down at the carpet for a moment. A long moment; so long it started to get uncomfortable. "Um... Lucina?"

She jerked her eyes up, and then she angrily wrote out a new note, _Do you really think you're not hot?_

I immediately threw my hands up around my face, blushing terribly. "Um..."

She slapped the arm of the chair, startling me. She quickly wrote, _This is that same_ but then she tossed the paper away, flustered and mad. I didn't know what to do, but she took a breath, then held up an index finger, telling me to give her a second. She wrote out a long message, still blindingly fast, and handed it over to me.

 _This is the same thing I told you after Therion died. You convince yourself you don't have power and then use that as a reason why you don't have to be careful. You said you were going to work on this You promised you'd fix it. YOU HAVE THE POWER TO HURT PEOPLE You need to understand this. Of course Jane will act like she's okay not dating, but is she really? Did you think to make sure? Did you worry for a second she might feel different? WE ARE ALL TERRIFIED and everyone knows you're the only one who can save us and you keep_

The message just ended like that, mid-sentence.

And weirdly, unexpectedly, I had a choice. I somehow knew, like I was looking at a light switch, that I had two options. I could see the rage, just oozing around like magma, burning and destroying. But I could also see coldness. That mindset I snapped into during trials, where everything was just clear and empty and open.

I closed my looked down, folded Lucina's note, and placed it gingerly in my lap. Breathing deeply, I met her eyes. They looked angry... but also scared.

"You're right," I said.

She literally gasped in surprise that I wasn't screaming at her. "I think some of this isn't fair," I continued, tapping the folded message softly. "But most of it is absolutely right. I'm sorry."

She didn't do anything. She barely even moved.

I thought of my mom. Times I'd put myself down in front of her, times I'd avoided confiding in her, times was cold to her. And though the image of her face didn't change in my memory from how it was before, I suddenly realized there was pain in her eyes. Rejection, fear, regret. I'd done that.

I thought about my dad.

"All I can do is say I'll try," I said to Lucina. "I don't want to be in the center of things; I want to be the forgotten little nerdy girl off in the corner. But. I'll try."

Lucina took a deep breath. _Oh thank god I thought you were never going to talk to me again._

"I couldn't bring myself to do that," I said almost automatically. "Even if I didn't..." I paused and then barreled through. "Even if I didn't have feelings for you, all of us who survive this are going to be in each other's lives. No one else will understand what we've been though."

She nodded, and then, eyes cast down to the floor, she showed me, _It wasn't about sex._

"Uh."

 _I didn't want you to think I was insisting on sex._

"Ahahahah." I very much became the nerdy awkward girl again. It was not a strategy this time, it was just how I was reacting. "Aha. Yes. Okay. Um." I must have been bright red. "Well. It... it wasn't about sex for me, either. It was... um, being close to someone I cared about. It scared me. That's why I ran."

She nodded. _Okay, because I wouldn't just make someone do that. Katy and I haven't even done it._

I opened my mouth to say something. Then I closed my mouth again.

Looking like she was trying to shrink her body into nothingness, Lucina wrote, _I shouldn't have told you that._

Making words still wasn't working very well, but I forced out, "it's okay?"

 _I'm pretty sure she wants to! She does care about me! I just think she wants me to be innocent? Or pure? Something. We're working on it!_

"Um."

She was so agitated, she dropped her notebook. Dazed, I watched her jump down and grab it and very messily write out, _oh my god I will stop trying to explain it I am making it worse_

She gathered up her materials and jumped to her feet and walked quickly to the door. As she went, she scribbled a message quickly and she showed me, _I criticized you and then made it as hard as possible to do what I asked that is just_

But she got to the door by the time I had read that far, so I stopped reading. Just as her hand touched the doorknob, I did it without even thinking, I threw my hands around her, holding her from behind and I just held her.

Her pen and notebook thumped to the floor, and she completely froze in place.

My one arm was wrapped around her collarbone, my hand pressing on her chest. My other arm wrapped around her stomach. I just held her.

"Hey," I said. "We're scared. Everything is crazy and complicated and messed-up because we're scared. Okay? When we get out of here, things will settle down and we'll all work this out and we'll be surprised it wasn't as bad as we thought it would be."

She placed her hand on top of mine, leaning back against me.

"And we're almost done," I said. "We're almost free."

I pulled back, and she turned to face me. "Katy has been a really good friend to me," I said. "I haven't liked admitting it, because I'm jealous of her, but she's really been wonderful. I trust her. We'll all work this out."

She looked at me, then she nodded firmly. I took a step back and let her bend down to pick up her stuff. When she stood back up, she paused for a moment, and then wrote a note, _When you say you trust Katy, does that mean you think she isn't the mastermind?_

I didn't answer for a moment, but pretty quickly I was able to smile. "Of course," I said.

I caught a tiny hint of a frown, but then she smiled back. She placed her hand tenderly on my shoulder, nodded once, and slipped out the door.

 **MAIN QUAD**

After a shower and a surprisingly dreamless sleep, I headed out to meet the day. I was a little early for breakfast, and I found Rocky and Rodrigo fiddling around with the music production equipment.

"Good morning, friend Saya!" Rodrigo greeted.

Normally, his friendliness wouldn't surprise me, but after the whole thing yesterday, I felt a little on edge. "Hey," I replied, walking up to them. "You guys... doing okay?"

"Our dirge has mostly taken shape!" Rocky answered happily. "Just got a few more layers. I did the beats and structure, Roddy did the melody."

"Ah!" Rodrigo blushed, scratching his cheek in embarrassment. "I was inspired to honor our classmates, but I really did no more than advise..."

"Hey!" Rocky smacked his arm playfully. "Remember what I told you, huh? You wrote half this song, period."

"Um, I was just wondering about the library thing yesterday," I ventured. "Rocky said it was pretty extreme."

"Yes." Rodrigo glowered down at the ground for a moment, then sighed. "Several weeks ago, friend Katy was telling me of a cultural theme here in this country." He paused. "My country, I suppose."

After a slight, uncomfortable cough, he continued. "A young, naive student goes off to college and learns the world is much larger and more complex than they had ever dreamed. And even more importantly, they learn truths about themselves they'd never expected."

"Yo, I think she meant, uh, something different," Rocky said.

"Perhaps." Rodrigo shook his head. "She made it seem frightening, but exciting. Necessary for a full life. But this I have learned... I know not how to even respond."

"Are you angry?" I asked.

"I was at the beginning," Rodrigo said. "The rage was nearly blinding. But as I kept reading what had been prepared for me, my feelings changed. I am overwhelmed." He clasped his hands in prayer. "I was mostly concerned the words of the saints and the gospels had been a lie. When I explored the library and realized they are not, I was put at ease."

"Hm." I rubbed my chin thoughtfully. "Jane kinda said the same thing. She was really angry, but then she didn't know what to think."

"Ha!" Rocky chortled. "That pretty much describes every day, for me."

"Not so!" Rodrigo objected. "You have been admirably keeping your temper, despite the stress of our circumstances."

I nodded. "Yeah, you haven't flipped out in a while."

"Uh. Well." Rocky looked away from both of us. "I have, kinda? Just in my room. And once, out here. Just not when anyone else was around."

I raised an eyebrow. "Hmm. What set you off?"

"Oh, I dunno, something," he replied, shrugging. "I just kinda held it in until I was alone. Listened to music or something."

"I... actually think that's not so bad," I pointed out. "You're controlling yourself!"

"I should be able to do it all the time," he grunted.

"Maybe eventually, but I dunno if peak mental health is really something to strive for in a murder game."

"'Tis true!" Rodrigo added. "Your temper may make you vulnerable to evildoers, but you keep it in check except when alone! I am grateful."

Rocky replied with a grunt.

"Ah... friend Rocky?" Rodrigo ventured. "Are you... growing angry right now?"

"No!" Rocky snapped angrily.

Rodrigo and I glanced at one another, but he simply held up his palm to me and strove forward. "Come." He grabbed Rocky by the arm and began pulling him towards the gym. "I will help you bear the storm of your fury!"

Rocky let out a wordless objection, but he allowed himself to be pulled away.

 **STUDENT UNION: CAFETERIA**

Rocky and Rodrigo were only a couple of minutes late to breakfast, but no one seemed to consider the our regular meeting to be particularly urgent. Jane acted for all the world like a preening, proud cat, and Lucina was awkward, but thankfully neither of them said anything.

In fact, both Lucina and Katy were withdrawn and distracted. I'm not sure they made eye contact once during the whole meal.

Discussion was mostly light, but in that tense kind of way where everyone knows we're all trapped until at least one more person gets murdered. I tried not to think about the fact that I recognized that as a mood, now.

When the meal broke up, I pulled Rocky aside. "Hey, um... are you okay?"

He blinked in confusion. "Okay?"

"After this morning. You know... when you were getting mad."

"Oh!" He grinned widely. "You're checking in on me?"

"Yyyyes?" I wasn't quite sure what to make of him. "Is that strange?"

"Kinda! But not for you!" He clapped his hands in his enjoyment. "I just realized it. You're doing leadery things. You're our leader!"

"I am?"

"Of course you are, darling," Jane called out casually as she dropped her used plates off at the dish station.

Rodrigo looked over his shoulder from picking out a last piece of fruit. "Yes, I have been considering you such since Friend Earl passed away."

"Why, do you not want to be leader?" Rocky asked, still grinning.

"No, I hate it," I answered simply. I glanced around for Lucina, but she and Katy had already left. "But I guess I'll do it." I glanced at him. "So? Uh, leader-question I guess: are you feeling okay?"

"Yeah! Me and Roddy talked about it. I don't get the Catholic thing, but he said some shit that helped." He glanced over his shoulder; Jane and Rodrigo had left and we were alone. "Hey, question?"

"Yes?"

"Have you ever, uh..." He was blushing again. "Have you ever crushed on a straight girl? Or a gay dude, I guess?"

"Oh." I took a deep breath. "I mean, in retrospect, a kabillion, but I didn't know it at the time. Are... you asking for the reason I think you're asking?"

"Yeah, probably." He fiddled awkwardly with his headphones. "It's been the thing that's made me mad a couple of times. I really don't like that."

I gestured to a table, and we both went and sat down. "Why do you get mad?"

"Aggghhhh I don't knowwwwwww," he moaned. "I just doooo. I hate thinking about this inside-my-head shit."

"I think..." I began, then I cut myself off. "Okay, leader-time. I'm gonna be hard-ass leader-girl, is that okay?" He grimaced but nodded, so I continued. "You gotta let me know if you're mad at someone in particular. That puts both of you in danger, you understand?"

"Yeah. I know." He leaned back, staring at the ceiling thoughtfully. Eventually, he said, "No, I don't think it's anyone else. I just start, like, spinning around all crazy, I'm not mad _at_ anything."

"Yeah." I nodded to him firmly. "All right. I like your idea of going to your room to let it out. You're safe locked in there. Keep doing that, if you have to. And you have friends here. Lucina, and me, and even Jane, right? You can talk to us."

He frowned for a moment, then looked up and smiled a big, genuine smile. "Yeah. Thanks." He tapped the side of his head, thinking. "There was something else... oh!" He held up an index finger in realization. "My Juliet thing! That's gonna suck, huh?"

"Your... what?"

"My thing she's got! Whatever she has on me that's like what she gave to Jane and Roddy. I'm kinda freaked out about that." He looked at me hesitantly. "Could... you go get it for me?"

I blinked at him in surprise. "Me?"

"Yeah! Dude, I'm dumb, I don't know anything. But you can go and read it and you can decide if I should know or not!"

"Rocky... I can't do that."

He was leaning forward eagerly, almost in an aggressive way. "C'mon! Bring Roddy? At least you can give it to me in a nice way?" He leaned back, deflating. "This is shit that's supposed to make you mad, right? I can't take that."

I held his gaze for a moment, then found myself nodding. "Fine. I'll bring Rodrigo, and we'll look at it together."

"Fuck yeah!" he cried, so exuberantly it was like he'd never felt an emotion but joy in his life. "Dude, I am so relieved you're our leader."

I just wasn't sure what to say to that.

 **SOUTH QUAD**

I spend the rest of the morning walking around feeling anxious, but nothing really happened. I was able to check in with Rodrigo to confirm his participation in receiving Rocky's information, but other than that, I didn't see anyone. Things still just felt weird.

But as luck would have it, Juliet's email summoning Rocky to the library came out in the early afternoon. I headed to the south quad right away, but found Rodrigo there already waiting for me.

"Greetings, Friend Saya!" he said.

"Hey." I walked up to him. "Ready?"

"Indeed. Friend Saya?" I paused; he looked at me very seriously. "I wish to thank you. I've been concerned about how to help Friend Rocky, and it seems your conversation with him helped a great deal."

I just nodded. "I hope so, at least. You've been worried about him?"

"Eh..." He looked away. "Excessively so. I'm thankful for this chance to offer protection in a direct way."

"Hmm."

He looked up suddenly. "What?!"

"...nothing."

"Friend Saya!" he sputtered, but I was already walking to the entrance of the library.

"It's okay!" I called over my shoulder. "It's not a big deal. Let's go help him out, okay?" I heard him trot after me.

 **LIBRARY: STACKS**

Juliet expressed absolutely no surprise or concern when she saw Rocky himself wasn't with us; she just gave us the directions through her library maze ("go in the top floor, take the second left and the second right") and said nothing else.

Rodrigo and I proceeded carefully, but the journey was uneventful, despite my general agitation. When we reached the location we were directed to, we just found three books on the floor, all charred. "Kind of a minimal set-up," I remarked.

"Aye." Rodrigo walked forward, poking his toe at the books. "Ah, here it is!" He bent down and pulled a couple of papers out from under the books. He held it out and I leaned over so we could read it together.

It was hard to parse, but from what I could tell, it was a transcription of some phone calls among employees at...

"New York City Hall," Rodrigo read haltingly. "New York is a grand metropolis, correct?"

"Yeah, and it's where Rocky's from." I pointed to one of the blobs of text. "They're talking about some... incident? Hm, 'outdoor festival...' 'just because someone's hands got too sticky for even basic maintenance...' oh my god." I looked up at Rodrigo. "Okay, I think what happened is, there was some big accident at a street festival. The sidewalk collapsed, or something. And people in the government were stealing the money instead of using it to keep things safe."

Rodrigo glowered. "'Multiple fatalities.' A truly grotesque breach of trust."

"But... but look at this." I indicated the bottom of the first page and flipped over to the next page. "They're talking about how someone started a fight just before the accident, and... oh, shit." I exhaled deeply; even after this whole experience, human evil could still baffle me. "They're fixing records. They're making it look like it was the fight that made the accident happen. 'Unprompted violence...' 'only known by a pseudonym...' Rodrigo, this is Rocky. They're pinning the accident on Rocky."

Rodrigo put a hand to his chest, then looked over at me. "But he is not truly to blame?"

"No, I don't think so. He started the fight, but the collapse would have happened anyway."

Rodrigo walked a few steps away, then turned back, confused. "Friend Saya. I don't understand. This is grossly unjust, but could it really be akin to what Friend Jane and I learned about our pasts?"

I frowned. "Rocky loves New York. It might actually really shake him." I tapped my chin in thought. "The city might be something he really trusted his whole life, like you trusted the monks."

"Then how can we tell him of this?" Rodrigo close-to-fretted. "We cannot be deceptive, but we must all stay safe."

"Well... I think that's why we have this second part." I held up the last paper, which was a print-out of a news article. The headline read MAYOR'S OFFICE ROCKED BY EMBEZZLEMENT SCANDAL.

"According to this, Rocky never actually got accused. Some people... like, a clerk and a custodian and a secretary... they exposed these guys before they could do it."

Rodrigo brightened, and he came over and glanced over the article. "So all is well? Why..."

Juliet's voice suddenly and loudly cut him off. "What are you doing here?"

We paused in surprise and glanced at one another. "Uh... Juli..."

"You can't get in, no matter how much you bang on the door." A pause. "I'll let you in if you want to use one of my nooses. But that's the only way I'll... to kill yourself, of course, what else would you use a noose for? ...Look..." She actually paused in what sounded like surprise. "That... doesn't make sense. I was seven when I stopped going. Listen, the timing doesn't... My journal... Christ, if you'll just stop throwing a tantrum and listen, I'll explain..."

"Something's happening," Rodrigo said grimly. I nodded, and we raced back through the shelves.

 **LIBRARY: MAIN ROOM**

Juliet kept on in the same manner as we moved, and just before we emerged from the stacks and got up the stairs, she let out a disgusted, "Fine, believe what you want!" And a crackle of static.

We emerged just in time to see Katy descending the stairs from the rare books room, tears clearly on her face even at a distance. I tried calling out to her, but she ignored me and ran toward the library exit.

Rodrigo and I stood, bewildered, in the main room. I looked up at the big window to the rare books room, and I could see Juliet staring down at us.

"What happened?" I asked out loud. She didn't move.

 **DORM: SAYA'S ROOM**

I didn't see Katy for the rest of the day. She didn't come to dinner, but Lucina claimed she was safe.

We told Rocky about the street festival thing (leading with the good part) and he, just like Jane and Rodrigo, seemed overwhelmed but basically fine.

The five of us lingered at dinner a while, things actually seeming like group of college friends hanging out. It was late before we even realized it.

After getting back to my room and into bed, I lay awake for a long time, imagining an alternate universe where this was just a regular university, and all our friends were still here. I'd complain to Bepi about Lucina-drama and he'd roll his eye and we'd go get pizza. Me and the Vandal would have a terrible relationship that would last about a week and be super-fun and end with us just petering out into friendship. I'd get drunk for the first time, JP watching over me, and probably start telling everyone how awesome my mom was. I'd argue politics with Nicole late into the night.

I felt cold. The reality was just... empty compared to that. And it'd probably get emptier soon.

In my dream, JP stood sadly in what appeared to be a teenager's bedroom. The door opened and Bepi walked in, serious and stoic. "Well," he said. "We learned a lesson today, didn't we?"

JP nodded morosely and a little fearfully. Bepi stepped closer. "And what lesson did we learn?"

"Don't drink and drive," JP answered. "Or you might kill your little sister's horde of baby ducks."

"That's right," Bepi replied sternly. "Any time there's baby ducks nearby, you should never, ever drink and drive! Especially at night, right?"

"Yes, sir."

"And why's that?"

JP hung his head. "Because baby ducks are nearly invisible in the moonlight."

"Yes!" Bepi put his hands on his hips and leaned forward. "And I don't know what you were thinking, going off alone with that bicycle repair man! I hope you learned a lesson from that, too!"

"Yes, sir," JP moaned. "'Bicycle repair men love to murder baby ducks.'"

Bepi stared at him harshly for a moment, then his face softened. "Come here, son," he said, spreading his arms. JP walked over and they embraced.

A gentle sound came from the window behind them. A baby duck stood on the windowsill, staring at them. "Wait..." said JP, "is that...?"

Another baby duck flew in through the window. And another. And another.

"Oh god, here they come!" Bepi shrieked. More and more ducks flew in, until the room was nothing but fuzzy chaos and screams.

My head hurt when I woke up.

 **GYM: YOGA STUDIO**

The rest of the day was uneventful but tense. Katy came to breakfast, but she didn't say anything to anyone the whole time.

I spent most of the day by myself, trying to avoid being anxious about the fact that I was the only one left Juliet hadn't exposed her big information to. This was a terrible strategy: being alone just made the potential horrors more and more elaborate.

My daily exercise session helped a little. On my way out of the gym, I glanced into one of the yoga studios, and I saw Lucina in there, eyes closed. I felt an uncontrollable rush of a billion emotions at once as I realized this was exactly a situation that had happened our second or third day here. The first time I really spent time with her.

I knocked hesitantly on the door and went in. She jerked her eyes open in shock and then relaxed when she saw me. She waved, then pointed near the door to her pen and notebook.

I picked up her stuff and walked over, sitting down next to her. After receiving her writing equipment, she scribbled out, _Giving meditation another try?_

"Just checking in," I replied. "I'm the leader, apparently. I gotta make sure everyone's okay. Oh!" I concentrated a moment and then tried to enact the signs for 'How are you?' that I'd seen in the book I'd found at the student stores.

She stared at me blankly for a moment, and then she burst into silent laughter. "Hey!" I snapped. "What... what's so funny?!"

She waved her hands placatingly and calmed her laughter, before writing out, _You don't actually cup your boobs when you do that. But I got what you were saying._ She demonstrated the correct sign, and, blushing, I repeated it back.

"Thanks," I mumbled, still blushing. Then I realized something. "But... you didn't answer my question."

She paused a moment, and her face fell. Eventually she showed me, _Worried and scared._ But before she turned the note around, she'd looked at is, as if she'd wanted to write more.

I leaned forward a bit. "Is it Katy?"

She looked away and then nodded, but she didn't do anything else.

"I... saw her at the library today," I said, causing her to jerk her head up in surprise. "She was trying to confront Juliet about something." Lucina grimaced and clenched a fist, but she didn't respond. "Did she read her Juliet-information? Is that why she's acting weird?"

Lucina wrote out a new message, No. But I can't find my DVD. And she avoided the question when I asked her about it.

"Your..." My mind spun. "You think she knows _your_ information?"

 _I don't know. I'm scared she'll do something stupid._

There was another hesitation before she showed me that one, and I felt my chest icing out. "Hey. You're not telling me something." She looked up in frustration, but I barreled through and kept going. "Trust me as your leader and your friend, okay? I can take it."

She hesitated and then jotted, _It's not important. It's just I don't know what I'd do if she died because of me. I love her._

I had known that, of course, but seeing it written out felt like a hole opening up in my gut.

She noticed. _I'm sorry. I keep hurting you and hurting her and hurting everyone. Everything I say is painful to everyone I care about and_

She was crying, and she jumped to her feet. She turned to run from the room, and I tried to follow, but she tore off a note and thrust it into my hands before dashing off. It said, _I'm sorry. Please leave it to me. I'll help Katy. It's not fair to make you do it_

After a moment of surprise, I decided, on complete impulse, to chase after her. But before I even got out of the room, there was a sproingy sound and suddenly a living teddy bear mascot was standing in my way.

"Hey, you!" Monokuma snapped. "Kill someone!"

Grunting in frustration, I ran around him and out the door.

 **GYM: ENTRANCE**

But by the time I got out of the yoga studio, Lucina was already gone and I wasn't sure where. My jaw clenched as I heard waddling footsteps following me. "Hey! Kill someone! Now now now!"

"Gagggh!" I twirled on him. "Shut up! I'm not going to kill anyone!"

"Oh, of course you won't!" he ranted. "Everything is just total chaos and nonsense. Nothing will make sense until someone gets murdered! But you just revel in it, don't you? You just..."

Unable to withstand anymore, I stomped out of the gym. He didn't seem to even care; I could hear him railing to no one as the door closed behind me.

 **DORM: SAYA'S ROOM**

Katy and Lucina showed up to dinner, but they avoided me as well as anyone could in a group of six people.

After dinner, I spent a little bit of time with Jane, but I felt tense, and I excused myself pretty quickly. I convinced myself I was going to go to bed, but sleep didn't come. I just stewed.

It was almost a weird kind of relief when I heard my tablet buzz. I went over and turned it on, nothing the time was just after midnight. Unusually, instead of being sent to everyone, it was just sent to me.

It just said, _Saya: Your turn. Come alone._

 **LIBRARY: ENTRANCE HALL**

Everything was bright and clean, just like always, but something about the nighttime made this place incredibly creepy. My footsteps seemed to echo more on the tile floor; the sprawling rooms and vaulted ceilings somehow felt oppressive.

I stopped in the entrance hall, closed my eyes, and breathed in and out slowly. Even though I was pretty sure what was coming, I had no clue what twist would be on it or what the point of any of it was.

"Hey Saya," Juliet's voice crackled out of the speakers. "I thought I told you to come alone."

"Huh?" I opened my eyes, confused. Monokuma stood on a stack of paint cans I hadn't noticed before, waving. "Agh!" I jumped away and ended up almost falling over.

"Oh..." Juliet said, the smile obvious in her voice. "Is he not with you? Do you have a stalker?"

"I am not a stalker," Monokuma said, chuckling in a very not-Monokuma way. He picked up a nearby spool of string (what?) and tossed it up in the air playfully. "I'm just curious. What are you up to, little girlfriend? What are you doing with all the information I gave you?"

I glared at him. "You're not Monokuma."

He literally did a little bow. "Hello, again."

"Well!" Juliet exclaimed, still sounding amused. "It's the mastermind! How nice!"

"Why, thank you!" You've always been one of my star students." He hopped down off the paint cans, then glanced back at them curiously. "Hey, Juliet, planning on doing some painting?"

"Something like that!"

I glanced at the door and then back to the bear. "Isn't it risky for you to do this?"

"You think I'd come here without planning it?" He put his paws on his hips and shook his head at me disdainfully. "All of our classmates are currently alone, and I'm monitoring the situation carefully."

"Yeah, but... I know you're not Juliet, now."

"Not true!" Juliet's voice interrupted. "I could be speaking into two different microphones!"

"It's true," Monokuma added sagely. "The two-microphone trick."

Deciding there was nothing I could do, I sighed and just walked into the library. I could hear Monokuma waddling after me, but I tried not to look back.

 **LIBRARY: STACKS**

Juliet's instructions were vague: "Go in the bottom floor, then just head straight forward for a while. I'll tell you where to turn."

I walked slowly. I couldn't help it: I felt very nervous surrounded by these bookshelves, especially with a murder-bear and a murder-voice accompanying me.

But for their part, they just seemed kind of cheerful.

"I've been wondering," Monokuma said, "why are you using the library for this, Juliet? Seems kind of huge and unnecessary."

"Oh, I like having a headquarters," Juliet replied. "I can just lock myself in this pleasant, comfortable room, safe and secure. It feels nice, being able to see what's going on in the whole building! I can't imagine how great it is to see the whole campus!"

"Couldn't be the mastermind without it!" Monokuma chirped. "Wouldn't be able to plan. And I'd probably get myself killed!"

"I also like books," Juliet continued. "There's some wonderful finds, in here. Oh: turn left at the next opportunity." We complied, and she kept talking. "There's an amazing, old first folio."

"Be careful with that!" Monokuma snapped. "It's from the eighteenth century!" He called after me, "Hey, Saya! Do you like Shakespeare?"

"I... don't know much," I answered cagily.

"Juliet, do you know Aaron the Moor's monologue?" he called.

"Hmm, no. Where is it?"

"Titus Andronicus, Act V, Scene 1. Line 125."

"Titus Andronicus?..." Juliet mused skeptically, but I could hear her flipping through pages over the microphone. "...Found it. Hm."

Monokuma stopped walking. He gazed down at the floor for a moment dramatically, then looked up at me. " _Even now I curse the day–and yet, I think,_

 _Few come within the compass of my curse,–  
Wherein I did not some notorious ill,  
As kill a man, or else devise his death,  
Ravish a maid, or plot the way to do it,  
Accuse some innocent and forswear myself_..."

Juliet joined in, now. They both continued the speech: " _Set deadly enmity between two friends,  
Make poor men's cattle break their necks_..."

Monokuma faded out; Juliet continued alone. " _Set fire on barns and hay-stacks in the night,  
And bid the owners quench them with their tears.  
Oft have I digg'd up_... pfft!" She let out a snorting giggle. "This is great _. Oft have I digg'd up dead men from their graves,  
And set them upright at their dear friends' doors,  
Even when their sorrows almost were forgot;  
And on their skins, as on the bark of trees,  
Have with my knife carved in Roman letters,  
'Let not your sorrow die, though I am dead.'_"

Monokuma came back in. It felt like neither of them were talking to me or to each other or even to themselves, just some bigger thing they imagined or felt that was always following them around. " _Tut, I have done a thousand dreadful things  
As willingly as one would kill a fly,  
And nothing grieves me heartily indeed  
But that I cannot do ten thousand more_."

The library was silent for a moment.

Raising an eyebrow, I glanced up at the ceiling, as if I could see Juliet up there. "That speech is from a bad guy, I'm assuming?"

"The worst guy," Monokuma replied. "I was thinking about that monologue after I listened to that conversation the two of you had the other day, about saints and heroes."

"Oh?" Juliet asked. "Which would you be?"

"Doesn't matter. I was just thinking about why you can't turn it around." He was staring right at me. "A saint does good because they just are good deep down, and it comes naturally to them. I can imagine the evil version of that: someone just bad. But what's the evil version of a hero? Someone who is good in their heart, but who struggles to be bad?"

"Hmm," Juliet mused. "Well, there's evil that's chosen and evil that isn't. You can't blame a wolf that mauls a woman to death, but you can blame the man who releases the wolf upon her."

"Well then," Monokuma leered. "Does that mean you'd prefer to be evil by nature than by choice? Because then one can't be blamed?"

"D..." Juliet sputtered for a moment. "That's not what I said."

"Sounds like it was..." Monokuma taunted. I very much hoped I wasn't just witnessing a debate the same woman was having with herself in two different microphones.

I spoke up. "Which are you?"

"Eh?" Monokuma turned to me, puzzled. "Which what?"

"Which kind of villain? Are you bad inside, or do you just do bad things?"

"I'm neither!" he argued, pulling himself up to his still very small height. "I'm not evil at all!"

"You literally call yourself a mastermind," I said, giving him a side-eye.

"Oh, that's just marketing," Monokuma argued. "It's a brand!"

"Uh huh," I said skeptically. "Why would you brand yourself as a villain?"

He clasped his paws behind his back in a prim, dignified pose. "When you considered murdering Katy, you knew it was wrong. You struggled with your conscience."

I involuntarily took a step backwards, as if he'd pulled a knife on me. I almost yelled, but I forced myself under control and glared. "You see a lot."

Ignoring me, he held up a paw. "But! At the same time, there was a part of you that didn't struggle at all, because you felt like you were doing something good. You wanted to kill her because you believed in your heart that something was going to be _better_ with her dead. That's why you wanted to do it at all. It's not a war between right and wrong; it's a war between two different rights."

"What's your point?"

"I've just been thinking." He waddled closer, seeming to leer and grin even though his facial expression never changed. "Even if your parents felt remorse, it doesn't matter. They still thought it was right to hurt you. They thought the world would be better if you suffered."

I had no idea what to say, but Juliet broke in. "Oh, stop talking like a whiny little kid."

Monokuma tilted his head. "Huh?"

"It'd be easy if they were like Aaron the Moor, right?" Juliet continued, voice hazy and calm. "Just vicious. It'd make everything so much simpler. You're young and they're these perfect beings that protect you and hold you. Then you grow up, see them in new eyes, all the ways they controlled and rejected and damaged. It's so... cathartic. You can just hate. But then... you grow up more."

I raised an eyebrow. "You do?"

Monokuma whapped his paw against a nearby shelf. "Hey! But they might actually be monsters!"

"Sure," Juliet agreed breezily, "but you get tiny glimpses of them outside yourself. Monsters or angels, they're just idiots who were making it all up as they went along. And as much as they hated or loved you, it was never close to how much they were afraid of being dead and forgotten."

"I'm perfectly fine just stopping at 'monster,'" I remarked.

"You can float in the water and let the current pull you in," Juliet replied. "Or you can float on the water and let the current push you out. Neither one's the same as swimming."

I was done. "Hey, Juliet? I noticed this a second ago, and it's been bothering me. Do I smell chocolate?"

"What?" Monokuma stiffened, looking around frantically. "Chocolate?!"

"Yeah." I glanced up at the ceiling. "Why do I smell chocolate, Juliet?"

"Oh, right, the explosives." She seemed enormously unconcerned, which I guess wasn't a surprise. "Don't worry. Those aren't for you."

Monokuma placed his hand over his eyes like a visor, peering around. "I'm not picking up on anything in this hallway with my Predator-vision."

"Uh. No offense, but I am not really inclined to trust either of you."

"Don't be silly!" Monokuma reassured me. "I don't think either Juliet or myself wants you dead. I think we're actually kind of battling over your soul, believe it or not."

"Please don't battle over my soul."

"It is what it is!" Monokuma began marching forward fearlessly, passing me. "See? I'm not exploding!"

"You're almost there, anyway,": Juliet said. "Just take the second left and it'll be right there." I stood there, uncertain, but she continued. "I swear, on love itself, you won't be hurt."

Monokuma had already disappeared around the corner. I sucked it up and followed.

As I made the turn, I should have expected what was there, but for some reason, I didn't. Of course one of the bookcases was overturned, books spilled out onto the floor, the heavy shelves leaning like a tree that came down in an ice storm. Of course the thick, large envelope lay on the floor under the bookcase. But still, I couldn't breathe.

"Do you like it?" Juliet's voice asked.

"She loves it," Monokuma assured her.

How did they even know?

* * *

 _"I… I'm here to tell you that I got into New Hope University. The special program. I'm just one of sixteen in the whole country." She took a step forward, clenching both fists. "And I did it_ without you _. You didn't have_ anything to do with it _." Energy was building up; she felt swirly and hot. "This is the last time I'm ever going to talk to you, and…"_

 _He resumed walking up the stairs, just turned into another room and shut the door behind him. With a wordless shriek of anger, she followed him and banged on the door, shouting. After a moment, she thought to check and found that it turned. He hadn't even locked the door._

 _She swung the door open. It was some sort of study, and he stood near a huge, wooden bookcase in the middle of the room. He was looking at the rows of books, making it as clear as possible his attention was fully captured by deciding what to read, and not anything else._

 _"Don't you…" she snarled, storming up to him. "Don't turn your back! Listen to me!"_

 _Apparently deciding what book to read, he reached up and started pulling one out._

 _She noticed she had tears on her cheeks, and that, in turn, somehow led her to realize she was absolutely, uncontrollably furious. She was angrier than she had ever been in her life, angrier than she thought it was possible to be angry. She grabbed his hand firmly, screaming, "Look at me!"_

 _He finally did. And it was with such vicious contempt, that even with her anger, she was stunned for a moment._

 _He pulled his hand away violently; so violently his hand swept across the books on the shelf, scattering them to the floor and knocking her back. She was amazed by his strength. He was so powerful. He kept looking at her in that same way, cruelty just part of his face like his nose was._

 _Neither of them noticed the bookcase until the first, loud cracking sound. What must have happened was, his hand's impact jostled the wood, and the thing was overloaded anyway. Two shelves on the opposite side had broken, spilling out books, so the weight was unbalanced. It tilted. It fell._

 _That's what Saya figured out later. In the moment it was just: he was an ogre, and then magic happened, and then he was on the floor, the bookcase on top of him._

 _She stared for a moment as if she was not really sure what she was looking at was physically possible. He was grunting and moaning. Just his shoulders, head, and right arm were sticking out, and as he tried to clear the heavy books away, it looked like every movement hurt. There was blood, for some reason, but she couldn't imagine where it had come from._

 _She realized, slowly, she wasn't angry anymore. As the shock faded, she realized she wasn't really anything. She recognized that as strange, but felt nothing. She stood up._

 _He coughed. When she looked down, he was reaching his arm up to her, bloodshot eyes huge and pleading. "Saya," he rasped. "Saya. Help. Help me. Saya. Call someone."_

 _She tilted her head in feigned confusion. "I'm sorry," she said. "I don't know you."_

 _His mouth fell open, lipstick-blood dripping out._

 _She considered him, ice forming in her chest. "Who are you?"_

 _He made a wordless, helpless wheezing sound. She turned around and left the room, closing the door behind her._

 _Later, when the police came and told her and her mother the news, they both cried, but it was perfunctory and they both knew it. They ate dinner. They watched a movie. Saya fell asleep with her head in her mom's lap for the first time in a decade._

* * *

"She thinks she knows what it is," Juliet's voice buzzed.

I blinked. "What?"

She sighed, exasperated. "Saya, the thing about secrets is, they're secret. You don't already know them. If you did, they wouldn't be secrets. This little tableau here is something I've known since I was in the freezer."

Monokuma ran over and prodded me forward, goading me with a chant of "Open your present! Open your present!" I let myself get nudged to the envelope, and without really thinking about it, I bent down, picked it up and opened it.

The packet of paper that slid out was a cheap photocopy, but it seemed to glow. This looked... official. As I scanned it, I realized it was a memo of some kind. It took me three times to read it before I grasped even the slightest bit of what I was seeing.

 _TO: Maj. Kindschwall_

 _SUBJ: Your daughter_

 _Sir,_

 _The upcoming semester is almost upon us, and before it's too late, I'd like to address some concerns about the inclusion of your daughter in the new class of Ultimates._

 _I have met her and have no doubts about her intelligence. However, her level of maturity is a concern for me, particularly regarding her sexuality (she seems to legitimately have no idea, which is astounding). I'm concerned this could be exploited during the game._

 _I would find her easy to work with (particularly compared to some earlier classes' masterminds) and would be in constant contact. However, as always, I cannot guarantee her safety. Does she truly understand the risk? Do you?_

 _Her pseudonym is not particularly egregious, but I'm concerned that 'Wild' is a bit... on-the-nose. These students are quite intelligent; it is possible they would be suspicious. Likewise, making the mastermind a literal chessmaster might be too obvious for some of these players. I understand her talent is genuine, but it may be best to establish a more subtle cover-identity._

 _Again, I am not concerned about her competence. Primarily, I am motivated to preserve her well-being. All previous masterminds have graduated safely, but we all understand it's especially important for the child of an administrator!_

I looked up at Monokuma. Then I looked back down at the paper. Then I looked back at Monokuma. He didn't do anything.

"Well, we caught you now!" Juliet's voice rang out gleefully. "Our diabolical mastermind was the daughter of Major Kindschwall all along!"

"Who the hell is Major Kindschwall?!" I yelled, too baffled to do anything but address the most obvious issue on the table. "What kind of... my dad's name isn't Major Kindschwall!"

"Well, the three of us know that!" Juliet replied. "But does, say... your friend Lucina know that? How would she have reacted if, just like was planned, this was left for her to find?"

I froze, but it wasn't cold. It was hot. I felt like my whole body was just terror. I stared down at the paper dumbly.

"Oh, Juliet," Monokuma murmured with near-wonder. "What are you even doing?"

"Just setting fire on your school," she answered, voice suddenly cold as darkness. "I bid you: quench it with your tears."

Monokuma sputtered in silence a moment. Then he fell over onto his back, laughing and laughing and laughing.

* * *

 _FACT 10: Rocky's information was that some people in the New York City government planned to frame him for a big accident, but they were exposed before they went through with it._

 _FACT 11: For an unknown reason, Juliet is stockpiling random items in the library. She has paint cans, Barrett's explosive chemicals, spools of string, and, most strangely, six nooses hanging from the ceiling in the rare books room._

 _FACT 12: Katy may have watched Lucina's DVD, and she attempted to confront Juliet about something. Lucina insists she will handle it, because she doesn't want me to have to._

 _FACT 13: Juliet's information to me is a fake document framing me as the mastermind. She said the original plan was to leave it for Lucina to find, bur she gave it to me instead. The mastermind actually seems kind of okay with this._


	40. Mimesis in Theory and Practice, Part D

**LIBRARY: STACKS**

I had to just sit down for a few minutes. I had a million questions and the person (or, well, animatronic bear mascot) who could answer them was right in front of me. It was incredibly hard not to ask and open myself up to whatever lies he wanted to tell me.

Monokuma and Juliet were yammering to one another. I closed my eyes and tried to turn them out, letting chess moves guide me into a sense of focus.

Okay. Apparently, I was set to be framed as the mastermind. Was this in place from the beginning? I'd make it to the end and be some kind of red herring? All my friends would think I'd been betraying them all along?

And then there was the completely baffling behavior of the mastermind. They just gave Juliet all this stuff, including a way to frame me, instead of letting us find it later? Juliet was stripping everything of whatever emotional power it had, and the mastermind didn't seem bothered at all.

Is this all just on the syllabus? Every semester, after the fourth murder, the mastermind 'goes against the protocol' and gives one person all the power? Monokuma... the AI... seemed really annoyed and upset about it, but is that just part of the plan? Why? What point could there possibly be?

My breath hitched when I realized how it was all set to go. Everyone else, it seems, was going to be given something that would leave them unmoored and furious. And then, in the midst of that, we all find a document that appears to be clear proof that I... the person they'd all recently appointed leader... had been betraying them all along.

I couldn't decide which was scarier. I'd be dead for sure if everyone thought I was the mastermind... and Juliet... was saving me? But that was terrifying, too... my life was in the hands of a monster.

And I remembered what my mom told me: if you ever get mugged or are present at a robbery, you're safest when the criminal feels like they're in control. If they know they're truly running things, they'll be calm and everyone can get out okay.

But if Juliet was saving me, that meant we were really off the rails. Monokuma and the mastermind were totally _not_ in control. They might do anything.

I jumped a bit and opened my eyes when I realized someone was calling my name. It was Juliet: her disembodied voice sounding annoyed. Monokuma was gone. "Umm..."

"He just left," she explained. "Really condescending, like, 'I'm so excited to see what other surprises are in store.'"

I looked up at the ceiling, feeling fuzzy. "Juliet. What is this? What's going on?"

"Don't try to make sense of it."

"No." I slammed a fist against the floor, glaring up at nothing. "Tell me. What are you doing? What is it that you _want_?"

She laughed brightly. "Want? To find my true love, of course!"

I sighed. "Juliet."

"All right, all right. I want to ruin and kill and destroy. To cause agony wherever I go."

"Juliet!" I jumped to my feet, incensed. "No!" I seethed up and around, knowing she could feel my anger. "What. Do. You. Want."

There was a long pause. Several times, I could hear blips of static and noise, like she was trying to answer and cutting herself off each time. Finally, she said, "That's a dumb question. I don't _want_ things. Not like you do. I just... reflect."

That brought my anger down a level. "What..."

She kept going, cutting me off. "I've always been... what's a good word?... suggestible?" She sounded honestly sad. "I've always just picked up on what people want me to be, and I become it. I don't think about it. I don't even know I'm doing it, most of the time. All I ever know is, I'm making someone happy."

"Yeah?" I asked, raising a skeptical eyebrow. "Are you doing it right now?"

"Of course I am, Saya. I'm a baffling puzzle, waiting to be unraveled, aren't I?"

I scowled at nothing, hoping she could see it. "Fair enough."

"...Saya, do you remember what I said a while ago, about how all I need to know is the beginning, and I know how someone's life will turn out?"

"I remember something like that."

"That's because life is a story. And stories... make sense. That was always... comforting? But." She let out something that was some kind of half-laugh, half-groan. "I think this is wanting? I think I want something. Is this what it feels like?" She made a noise like she was gagging. "Oh god, I didn't realize until now. Is this how awful it always is? I can't..."

I knew not to get sucked in. But... "What? What's wrong?"

"I want... to rewrite the story. I want to go back to the moment it could have been different, and... oh god. But I can't."

The microphone clicked off. She said nothing, even when I called out to her.

There was nothing else to do but leave. On the way out, the microphone clicked back on. "But Saya can be a writer." It was mumbled, almost frantic. "But Saya can..." and then it clicked off again and she really was gone.

 **DORM: SAYA'S ROOM**

I barely remember getting back to the dorm and in bed, but I do remember those moments as I slipped into sleep. Something came to my head like it was projected there, like a sudden revelation. It was both a relief and horrifying: "This is my last show."

The murderers sat around a large dining table, somber and suspicious. They were dressed in fine, expensive clothes (Nicole in particular looked fantastic), and they all sat primly, stiffly, and formally.

The roast in the center of the table was Monokuma.

Bepi, at the head of the table, pulled out a large fork and knife and began carving. Wires and electronics were exposed, fluff popping out everywhere.

Therion stood up, placing both hands on the table. He closed his eyes, looking serene and placid. "Heavenly father," he intoned, "we thank you for this feast. We thank you for this carnage." Sparks flew from Monokma's corpse; Bepi ducked away in fear and then, after a moment, resumed cutting.

"Especially," Therion continued, "grateful for what game turned into. Grateful for the complexity. Grateful for framings, for alibis, for liars. Grateful for the red herrings, for the chaos, for the distractions. Grateful bear was cast aside."

Bepi began passing platefuls of shredded robot around the table.

"But." Therion cast his eyes up to the ceiling. "Fearful, as well. Fearful of stagnation. Fearful that once play set into motion, must continue eternally."

Therion took his plate and smelled it with relish. Everyone was served by this point, but they looked at Therion expectantly.

"Cliché," Therion continued, holding up his index finger, "of 'taking ball and going home.' Disparaged. Said it ruins game, sign of bad attitude. Maybe true, but irrelevant. Even ultimate game must be quittable. If ball can't be taken home, game isn't game. Game is life. No good game is life, because life has no rules, and rules what make games good. Therefore…" He clasped his hands over his chest. "Grateful for quitters, and grateful for bad sports. Amen."

They all immediately began grabbing fistfuls of mascot and shoving them into their mouths. Like frantic animals. Like killers.

I woke up slowly, sitting up and looking around blearily. I wondered why I felt a pressure pushing down on my ankles. It took me a second to realize Monokuma was standing on the foot of my bed, leaning forward and staring at me. "MURDER SOMEONE!" he screeched.

I yelped.

 **STUDENT UNION: CAFETERIA**

Neither Katy nor Lucina showed up to breakfast. I explained to everyone that Katy had read Lucina's 'twist information' and that Lucina had promised to handle the situation.

Jane had scoffed. "Handle it alone?" She clenched her fist tightly. "Fools. Absolute fools. I…" She trailed off and just let out a disgusted grunt. "I'm not worried, of course. I wouldn't worry over dullards like them. But to make it so far and… ugh."

"One more murder," Rocky said grimly. We all whirled on him, and he looked shocked by either the attention or what he'd said.

"Friend Rocky!" Rodrigo sputtered. "Do not say such things!"

"I don't want there to be another murder!" Rocky protested. "But what if there has to be?!"

"That's according to the way things were planned," I argued. "But I think we're off the plan. Monokuma is freaking out, and Juliet is changing everything around."

"Yeah, but… but I still don't see any administration building around, do you?" Rocky asked forcefully. "Shit's off the rails, for sure. But this is an A.I.! Like, it's a computer! It does what it's programmed to do. If it's programmed to open up the last building after five trials, that's what it does!"

"Oh?" Jane leaned back in her chair casting a suspicious look to him. "Aren't you suddenly knowledgeable of the workings of this school?"

Rocky's mouth fell open. "N..no! I just know because I program shit all the time!" He pointed at Jane. "Hey, I thought I was too dumb to be the mastermind! You're the one we should worry about, with all your science stuff!"

Jane waved her hand dismissively. "Oh, please. That doesn't even make sense. You…"

"Please!" Rodrigo exclaimed, stepping between them. "We cannot fall to mistrust! We must work together!"

"Ah yes, our fountain of ethics has spoken," Jane grunted. "Moral lecturing from a child soldier. Appalling."

Rodrigo's mouth fell open, and Rocky surged forward, shoving his finger in Jane's face. "Hey! Don't pull that shit with him! I will fucking kill you! I will…"

Both Rodrigo and I stepped in, pulling him back. Despite his small frame, he was surprisingly strong and hard to control as he continued to rant at Jane.

"Stop!" I shouted. "Rocky!"

Eventually, we got him away and quiet. Jane just scoffed, but her eyes were scared. Rodrigo was looking at me helplessly.

"H…hey," I said, trying to calm myself, feeling my heart pounding. "Everyone, please! Jane?" She rose her eyes to me, keeping her face harsh. "Look, I know. I get it. Rocky?" He was panting and scowling but was also paying attention. "We're scared. We're exhausted. We've seen people die over and over, and… and we all know someone in this room might be behind all of it."

I looked at each of them in turn, trying to look as tough as possible and clearly failing. "If one of you is the mastermind, then you know I have plenty of reasons to hate you. And I do. But I'm not willing to throw away friendship for hate."

They were softening, and with building energy I continued. "I don't know about anyone else, but I had a hard time making friends in high school. I think… that might be true for all of us, too. I had this stupid hope that when I got to college, things would change. I'd start dressing cute, and I wouldn't be scared to come out, and I'd hook up with hot people, and I'd sit and talk with my friends all night. That always seemed too perfect, and… I guess it was. But I won't throw away my friendships for anything, even if one of you is my enemy. I'm blooming in spite of your shit, and I'm not going to give you the satisfaction of wrecking it."

No one said anything as I panted. Eventually Jane stood up, walked over, and clasped my hand, giving it a squeeze. She turned to Rocky and said, "I ap… ol." She coughed. "Lo." She cleared her throat and then very quickly and softly said, "gize."

Rocky walked over and held out a fist to Jane. She stared at it blankly, then looked back up to his face in confusion.

"Gimme some dap!" Rocky said cheerfully.

"Oh, lord." She timidly held up a fist and then pulled it back down. "How about I not?"

"Dap!" Rocky commanded. "Dap! Dap! Dap!"

"Fine!" With revulsion, she quickly met his fist-bump. She stepped back, literally shuddering. "No one may tell anyone I did that."

Rodrigo walked up to me and bowed his head seriously. "Friend Saya… I am moved by your words. I believe the spirit of Friend Ashley was with you."

"Uh… really?" Now that the rush was wearing off, I felt kind of embarrassed. "Did it even make sense? I was just kind of winging it."

"It was great," Jane answered, moving away and sitting back down. "I hope… we all survive. All of us."

I kinda gaped at her, so surprised she would say something like that.

"And I think," she added, "if we stand together, we may."

I smiled. I felt myself relax.

 **DORM: UPSTAIRS HALLWAY**

It didn't last, of course. After a trip to the gym and a slow, lingering shower, I headed back to my room. I didn't make it all the way.

Sitting right outside the front of my room, a small piece of paper on top of it… was a jewel case containing a DVD.

Like I was approaching a wild animal, I slowly reached down and picked it up. It was, indeed, the DVD I had glimpsed before when Juliet handed it over to Katy.

I unfolded the note. In Lucina's writing, it just said, _You're one of my only good things. I love you._

I didn't react for a moment, then I was gripped with fear. I couldn't watch this in the trashed computer lab here, but I could go to the art center. I took off down the hallway in a run.

But I stopped myself. One more murder. I still had to be careful.

I banged on all my surviving classmates' doors, but only Jane answered. I didn't even wait, I breathed a "Come on. It's important," and ran off, hearing her footsteps and protestations behind me.

 **MAIN QUAD**

When we got outside, I was relieved to find Rocky and Rodrigo out by the DJ equipment. I waved my hands, running over to them. "I found this outside my door," I explained, showing them the DVD. "It's Lucina's big Juliet information."

Rocky, pale, pointed frantically. "Oh, shit! That's…" He held up a book. "This was outside my door, too!" It was his own book, the one about time signatures in EDM. He quickly opened it up to show writing on the inside of the back cover, _You're brilliant. Never forget it._

Jane caught up by now, wheezing. "What is…"

"We have to see what's on that!" Rocky yelped.

"Yeah," I nodded. "At the art center." We all took off. Jane groaned, still panting, but came along.

 **ART CENTER: COMPUTER LAB**

I had not been here since listening to Emily die. I nearly vomited when I passed through the door.

Swaying, I was able to make it to the nearest computer. Everyone gathered around (Rodrigo marveling at the existence of such a thing as a DVD), as it loaded up.

There was a single video file. It was labeled _APPOINTMENT 7._

My vision swimming, I opened it.

The video flickered on, showing the face of an absolutely adorable little girl with a beautiful smile and even a pink bow in her light brown hair. The camera soon zoomed in to the bottom half of her face. "All right..." an offscreen voice said. "We're all set. Smile, Juliet!"

"Okay, Dr. Sorenson!" the child...Juliet... said brightly, then she frowned. "Um... Dr. Sorenson, I need to tell you I didn't do all my exercises this week. I'm sorry."

"Oh?" The man's voice sounded more amused than anything else. "You're usually so good at keeping up, it's fine for you to miss a few lessons here and there. What happened?"

"I got a new wook fro..." The girl paused and repeated herself, slower. "A new book from my neighbor. It's about biology."

"Biology?" The voice chuckled. "How old are you, again?"

"Seven and a half!"

The doctor laughed. "My goodness, I'm always surprised! My wife... you know, she works at the reception deck sometimes?... she says talking to you is just like talking to an adult."

"Oh gosh, thank you!" Juliet exclaimed, beaming. "I alwwwwss." Her voice hitched. "Alw..."

"Juliet," Dr. Sorenson's voice said kindly. "Remember. Slow down. Think about the space in your mouth as you say the sounds. And...?"

"And relax the muscles in the front of my throat," Juliet answered, slightly embarrassed. She took a deep breath. "All-a-ways. Always. All. Ways. Always." She glanced up and off camera. "Did that look right?"

"Yes! And we'll be able to look back at the tape and see just how you did it. That's a hard word for you, I know."

Juliet nodded, all happy smiles again. "I _always_ try to have something new to say if people want to talk to me! That's why I'm so grateful to you, doctor."

"Why, thank you!" he replied, sounding genuinely pleased. "You know, I have a daughter around your age. Sometimes, she's a challenge. I'd be happy if I could get her to be as polite as you!"

"Oh!" Juliet replied, smile flickering, then changing slightly. It was a smile I'd seen on grown-up Juliet. I'd learned to be afraid of it. "Well. My parents say little girls are to be seen and not heard."

Dr. Sorenson paused slightly. "Do they?"

"Mm-hmm! I think so, too. I'll tell you about it at the end of the appointment!"

"Uh." Dr. Sorenson sounded surprised. "Well. All right. For now, let's get started. Please read the list of words I'm holding up, slowly and carefully."

Then the video cut off.

"Oh god," I heard someone say. I realized it was me.

But before anything else could happen, buzzing sounded throughout the room. Our tablets were giving off a notification.

I pulled mine out and opened it. We all had a new email from Juliet. It just said, _I'm doing it._

It was like we were all frozen. Jane, of all people, was the one who broke it. She slapped a gloved hand against the wall. "Well, come on!" she barked. Shaking, cold, we all dashed out of the room.

 **LIBRARY: ENTRANCE HALL**

As soon as we ran in, we could hear it. Juliet's voice, echoing from unseen speakers. "I'm doing it," she said, almost singing. "I'm killing her. I'm finally killing her..."

 **LIBRARY: MAIN ROOM**

I tried not to be too distracted as I ran to the stairs to the rare books room, but something had happened. There were streaks of yellow paint across the floor. The window to the rare books room was broken, a gaping hole surrounded by shards of glass. And. One of the bookcases at the front of the stacks had collapsed.

Juliet's voice cooed away. "She's dying. She's dying."

 **LIBRARY: RARE BOOKS ROOM**

The door to the rare books room was wide open, but I couldn't see anything important from the hallway. I realized I was telling myself, "It's not Lucina." Not, "Is it Lucina?" or "I hope it's not Lucina," but just denial. And as I entered the room, it occurred to me that "It's not Lucina," so firm and certain meant "It is Katy."

As we entered the room, we all just stopped. Full run, then stopped. We didn't skid to a halt or crash into each other; I don't know how we did it. But when we saw what lay before us, we couldn't move or breathe or do anything.

There was the blood, of course. And the glass, strewn all over. The overturned tables and chairs. Six nooses hanging from the ceiling.

Five empty. One suspending a mangled body. So mangled, I couldn't make sense of it at first. Cuts covering the skin, the bloated, agonized face, the eyes staring into nothing.

"Finally, finally, she'll be dead," Juliet's voice rang out from nearby speakers.

And that's when I saw Monokuma... and who was with him. Katy and Lucina huddled next to him, arms and ankles bound. They both squirmed, eyes frantic. Katy tried to call out to us through her gag.

Monokuma pointed at us. "Okay!" he said. "We can do this! It's all okay! It's fine, we can handle this! Don't freak out!"

But looking up at the bloody, ghastly corpse of Juliet Mountebank, I couldn't follow his instructions. I freaked out.


	41. Mimesis in Theory and Practice: Part E

_Q: Tell me about your parents, please.  
JM: They were wonderful. All they wanted was for me to do good in the world.  
Q: I see.  
JM: I'm afraid I don't understand your reaction, sir.  
Q: My reactions are not the purpose of this interview.  
JM: Of course, but if you tell me, I'll be able to give more insight. Something's caught your attention; I want to elaborate on it.  
Q: You stated your parents wanted you to do good in the world. Looking at your past... I can't think of any way you can think they possibly succeeded.  
JM: Oh. Yes, I understand. But you see, it's all relative. I did as much good as I was ever capable of doing. And for that, my parents were true saints, true heroes._

* * *

I couldn't decide what was worst to look at, so I took in all of it. Juliet's body swayed gently, her eyes looking at nothing. I had thought she could make her eyes go blank before, but it was nothing like this. I don't even know what this means, but she was somehow the most alive person I'd ever known. To see her like this was just incomprehensible.

But not as incomprehensible as the rest of her body. Her arm was bent unnaturally, and her left leg was swollen up below the knee. And the blood. I'd seen her covered in blood before. But the amount that streaked her body and was pooled underneath her... it felt she was somehow inside-out, like there was nothing left under her skin.

The rest of the room was no better. Lucina and Katy both had pleading, frantic eyes, and they struggled pathetically against their bounds. Seeing both of them so helpless and terrified was almost as horrific as the carnage.

And then there was Monokuma, leaving bloody footprints behind and crunching the glass on the floor as he paced, waving his paws erratically. "Calm down!" he shouted. "Everyone calm down! Listen to me! This is fine! We're fine! We can do this!"

No one calmed down. It was pandemonium, until it suddenly ended with a deafeningly loud report.

Monokuma held his shotgun, pointed up at the ceiling, the end smoking. Everything went still and silent... except for Juliet's voice, still ringing out of the speakers about "killing her." Monokuma waddled over to the computer on the main desk and whapped his paw against the keys. Juliet's voice stopped.

"You have found a dead body," Monokuma announced. "Everything may be going to hell, but we are not missing out on the investigation and trial! Justice is justice!"

He swiveled on Lucina and Katy, swinging his shotgun to point at them. They both braced and squeezed their eyes shut, but he didn't fire.

"However!" he continued. "Thanks to the actions of certain students, we'll have to handle things a little differently! It's unavoidable that you get a little more information than usual, but that's fine! We're flexible! We're adjusting!"

"First things first!" he snapped. "Miss Mountebank's death had at least one witness, not counting myself!" He glared at his captives. "They have currently been restrained to keep from this whole thing devolving into chaos, but after an initial investigation period, you will have the opportunity to interview both Miss Sorenson and Miss Thorson! _Independently_."

* * *

 _ **FACT 1: WITNESSES.**_ _  
Juliet's death had at least one surviving witness._

"Wait... 'been restrained?'" Jane asked. "'Been restrained' by whom?"

* * *

"By me, of course!" the bear shouted. "I don't like interfering in crime scenes, but we have to have some kind of organization to this!" He glared down at them with obvious disdain. "I also bandaged and dressed their cuts, because I will not have anyone bleeding all over my beautiful courtoom! But rest assured, that's all I did! Everything else was all you idiots!"

"Furthermore!" Monokuma's voice was strained, like he was legitimately under stress. He was truly an amazing A.I. "Just in case it wasn't obvious, I'll go ahead and tell you that the killer of Miss Mountebank was in this room already when you all entered."

* * *

 _ **FACT 2: MONOKUMA'S STATEMENT.**_ _  
Monokuma is the one who tied up and gagged Lucina and Katy; he also bandaged and dressed any cuts they had. He didn't interfere in any other part of the crime scene. Monokuma told us that Juliet's killer was in the rare books room when we came in._

* * *

"Now!" he shouted officially. "Investigate! Hurry! I'm going to take these witnesses somewhere they can't cause any more trouble while you're doing that!" He strode over to Lucina and grabbed the rope tied around her ankles. He pulled, straining backwards, and she didn't move a centimeter.

After a few moments of straining, he walked to her head and tried to grab her under the shoulders to lift her up, having no success at all.

Eventually, he just grunted in frustration. "Mr. Diaz!"

Rodrigo jumped in surprise, probably brought out of a horror-trance for the first time since entering the room. "Ah... what?!"

" _You_ will move the witnesses to a safe place!" Monokuma commanded, pointing at him. "It's not like you're going to be useful in an investigation, anyway!"

He looked around blankly, then nodded. "Yes... yes, if they must be moved, I can do so safely."

He hesitantly walked over and bent down over Lucina. "Friend Lucina, may I carry you?" Lucina looked at him like he was crazy for a moment, but then she sighed and nodded. He looked to Katy and asked the same question, and she too nodded (looking much angrier than Lucina).

His manner was shy and embarrassed, but he still picked Lucina up with one arm and draped her over his shoulder. Then he picked up Katy with his other arm. He stood up awkwardly, both sets of their legs hanging down from hiss shoulders. "If... if you feel discomfort, please bend your knees," he said, looking straight forward.

"Wait a sec," Rocky interrupted, glaring at Monokuma. "How'd you even tie them up in the first place?"

"Shotguns are very effective at making people hold still!" Monokuma replied, sounding almost proud. He stepped in front of Rodrigo, pointing. "Forward!" He marched out of the room, Rodrigo following.

Both Lucina and Katy looked right back at me as he toted them down the hallway. My heart was beating so fast, I thought I was dying. It caused a burst of shame, but I had to: I walked away, to the side, where they couldn't see me anymore.

Jane, Rocky, and I stood in that terrible room, silent and still. I don't think any of us knew what to do or think.

Very luckily, after only a few seconds, our tablets buzzed. Blank and cold, I pulled mine out and beeped it on.

 _BODY ANNOUNCEMENT_

 _The victim is Juliet Mountebank. Time of death was 10:50 am._

 _The victim has suffered numerous injuries. Among them:_

 _Extensive bruising on left hip, both legs, and neck._

 _Broken left ulna._

 _Broken right tibia._

 _Extensive, deep cuts covering entire body._

 _Crushed larynx._

 _The victim's cause of death:_

 _Blood loss._

"Umm," Rocky said, scratching his head in confusion. "I'm... not sure what some of these words mean."

"The ulna is in the arm," Jane replied, surprisingly not condescendingly. "Tibia is in the leg. The larynx is your windpipe."

I glanced at my tablet's clock. "She died about 15 minutes ago. That'd be... maybe eight or nine minutes before we came here."

* * *

 _ **FACT 3: BODY REPORT.**_ _  
Juliet had a broken leg, a broken arm, a crushed larynx, and extensive cuts all over her body. She died of blood loss under ten minutes before we arrived on the scene._

* * *

"Christ," Rocky muttered. "Um, I call not examining the body."

"Fine," I said, looking over with sympathy. "Take a look around the room, will you? And be careful of all the glass."

Jane and I stepped closer to Juliet. We did not want to get too close, because there was a very large pool of blood underneath her. Trails of blood led down her body from cuts all over.

Sucking it up, I stepped forward to examine the pool of blood. Besides being large and fairly wet, there were a few chunks of glass in it.

Jane took in the scene. "Oh dear," she said.

"Yup," I replied. I finally looked directly at Juliet's body. I blinked as I noticed something. "Huh... she's actually really close to the floor." I pointed at her toes, which almost reached the pool of blood under her. "Just... an inch up, or so."

"Ugh, use the metric system like a civilized person," Jane muttered, but then she pointed up to the other nooses. "They're all different heights. Whoever hung her up here chose one where she'd almost be able to reach the floor."

* * *

 _ **FACT 4: NOOSE.**_ _  
Juliet's feet dangled about an inch off the floor. The nooses were all different heights._

* * *

"How does hanging work?" I asked. "How's it usually kill you, and how long does it take?"

Jane shrugged. "A sudden drop ideally breaks the neck, causing instant death. If it's not an instant death, then it's strangulation. It can take several minutes." She gestured up to Juliet's disgustingly disfigured, blue face. "The victims often look like that."

* * *

 _ **FACT 5: JULIET'S DEATH.**_ _  
It can take several minutes to die from behind hanged._

* * *

I nodded, then glanced at her. "I'm a little worried it didn't even occur to me you wouldn't know the answer to that."

"Hmmph." She pointed over to Juliet's feet. "Have you noticed that? Look at her soles."

Juliet was barefoot, and there were rivers of blood running down her legs and feet (the blood seemed to collect into trails and roll down her body in thick lines). But I looked closer at her feet, and I saw a thin layer of yellow paint, mostly dried by this point.

* * *

 _ **FACT 6: JULIET'S BODY.**_ _  
Juliet was barefoot, and her soles had yellow paint on them._

* * *

Looking at her feet, I noticed a gash on the front of her leg, just above her left ankle. It looked different from the other cuts, which were thin and controlled. This was jagged ... messy.

"Oh... hm." Jane, examining the cut, distastefully turned Juliet's body around so we were facing the front. "Look, darling." I didn't see it at first, because of all the blood, but eventually I noticed that there was that same yellow paint on the front of both of her legs.

"Wait, is that..." I forced myself to touch the corpse, running my finger over her skin. "What are those things?" Poking at one of the odd objects protruding from Juliet's skin, I realized they were wooden splinters.

* * *

 _ **FACT 6: JULIET'S BODY (revised).**_ _  
Juliet was barefoot, and her soles had yellow paint on them. She also had yellow paint on the front of both of her legs. There was a gash on the front of her leg by the ankle which looks different than the other cuts. Her body also had wooden splinters in it._

* * *

We looked over the rest of Juliet's body, but we didn't find anything we didn't already know. She was just absolutely covered with cuts, some quite deep.

"Okay," I said, "and apparently she bled to death. How long does that take?"

"It depends on the nature of the cuts," Jane answered. "It can happen quite quickly, or it can be very slow." She examined Juliet's body more closely. "Interesting..." she mused. "Cuts all over her body, and they're quite precise. Whoever did this avoided the major veins and arteries. And they directed their attention at some... quite sensitive areas." She glanced over. "A long, painful death."

* * *

 _ **FACT 5: JULIET'S DEATH (revised).**_ _  
It takes several minutes to die from behind hanged. It probably took Juliet a long time to bleed to death, and many of the cuts would be particularly painful. The cuts were all even and precise and were all over her body._

* * *

"Um, dudes?" Rocky called out. "Uh, dunno if you're done with... that... but I found some shit when you're ready?"

I was perhaps too grateful for the excuse to not have to examine the body anymore. I stood and we walked over to Rocky. "Yeah?"

"Uh... okay." He first waved his arms at the window-wall, which was smashed. "There's this, first, obviously."

There was some glass still in the pane, a good amount hanging from the top like stalactites, and a couple of inches of sharp spears sticking up along the bottom. It wasn't even; there were places where it was lower or higher, but basically there was just the big hole in the middle.

I headed over to the window and glanced over the edge. We were about one story up, and a handful of pieces of glass sparkled up from the ground floor. But it was nothing compared to the glass all over the floor here.

* * *

 _ **FACT 7: WINDOW.**_ _  
The big, floor-to-ceiling window in the rare books room was smashed. All the glass was on the floor of the rare books room except for some jagged pieces around the edges._

* * *

"Um, there's also just... like, chaos everywhere," Rocky said. He indicated the overturned chairs and tables, the tin cans strewn over Juliet's bedding area, and a dent in the wall where it looked like a foot or an elbow hit it. "It looks a lot like a fight. I've... seen the results of big fights before."

* * *

 _ **FACT 8: STATE OF RARE BOOKS ROOM.**_ _  
The rare books room was damaged and messy, as if there had been a fight there._

* * *

"Lovely," Jane said, rolling her eyes. "Is there anything not completely obvious you'd like to show us?"

He cringed slightly but nodded. "Uh, I found these. I'm not sure if Juliet had them in here already, but they seemed weird to me." He pointed to two softballs, lying apart from one another.

"I... don't think she had these here before," I remarked. "She could have bought them at the student stores, but I don't remember seeing them."

* * *

 _ **FACT 9: SOFTBALLS.**_ _  
There were two softballs lying around the rare books room. I hadn't seen them when I had been in here before._

* * *

"Uh, one more thing," Rocky said. He walked over to the wide open door. "A couple of things, here."

I leaned over to examine the side of the door that was facing me. One particular clue was very obvious, to the point that I couldn't believe I hadn't noticed it before: a large butcher knife was stuck into the door.

I looked closer; it was almost certainly the same one Juliet had shown me earlier. I could see a thin, dark bloodstain running down the very sharp edge of the blade. And...

I carefully rubbed my finger on the handle. Yes... it looked like there was some yellow paint on there, mostly dry.

* * *

 _ **FACT 10: BUTCHER'S KNIFE.**_ _  
Juliet's knife was stuck into the exterior of the door to the rare books room. It had a thin, dry bloodstain on the blade and yellow paint on the handle._

* * *

As I examined it, I noticed something odd on the door itself. it was hard to see against the oak wood, but there was that same yellow paint smeared in a couple of places, a little fainter than on Juliet's legs.

* * *

 _ **FACT 11: DOOR TO RARE BOOKS ROOM.**_ _  
The outside of the door had yellow paint smeared on it._

* * *

"And this," Rocky said, closing the door partway, showing us the interior side. A key stuck out of the lock, and both the key and the handle had blood on them.

* * *

 _ **FACT 11: DOOR TO RARE BOOKS ROOM (revised).**_ _  
The outside of the door had yellow paint smeared on it. The other side of the door had the key still sticking out of the lock, with blood on both the key and the door handle._

* * *

I nodded to Rocky. "Nice work."

He smiled gratefully, but Jane cut in. "Well, did you happen to notice, uh, those?" she asked with a tilt of her head downward.

I looked down. Next to the door was a pair of familiar-looking, stiletto boots. One of them had a broken heel. "These are Katy's, right?" Jane nodded grimly.

"Ohhh," Rocky said. "Okay, I get it now. That's what this was!" He held up a dark stick; it was the missing stiletto heel. "It was over by the desk. Wondered what it was."

* * *

 _ **FACT 12: BOOTS.**_ _  
Katy's boots were in the rare books room, near the door. One of them had a broken-off heel, which was found across the room, near the desk._

* * *

"All right," I said. "I want to search the downstairs. Was there anything else?"

"Yeah, just this." Rocky walked over to the desk with the computer and audio equipment, but he paused. "Well..."

Jane shook her head dismissively, but I just looked at him as seriously as I could. "Yeah?"

"I mean..." He scratched the back of his head for a moment, then threw his hands up in defeat. "It's nothing."

"No... no, really, what is it?" I asked, leaning forward.

He sighed. "I don't even know. It's just... something seems out of place. Like... I dunno. Something just out in the open feels weird."

Jane started to say something. I shushed her. "Okay," I said as helpfully as I could. "Let's just take a second and look, all right?"

Jane made no secret of her skepticism, but we all were indeed silent as we scanned over the room. It took a few seconds before I noticed it. "Yeah," I said. " We've been looking at little details, but... the pattern of this blood and the glass isn't right, somehow."

Frowning, Jane took a step forward. "Is it this?" she asked, indicating a particular spot. "There's blood here. But the rest of it is splattered out from her body or pooled under her. This is different." She touched it softly. "Bleh, the blood's sticky and thick."

"Yeah..." I agreed. "Yes." I leaned down and looked at the area in question, too. "And the glass is weird, too." The shards were all bloody, but kind of clumped in a way it didn't seem similar to the way the rest of the shards of glass were spread. "Be careful with your fingers," I chided Jane, who just raised an eyebrow.

* * *

 _ **FACT 13: GLASS AND BLOOD ON FLOOR.**_ _  
There was a spot on the floor near the desk where the blood and glass shards seemed different from the rest._

* * *

Rocky, thankfully ignored it and laughed nervously. "It's probably nothing! I just... y'know."

"Indeed," Jane replied, standing up. "Good work. What were you saying about this computer?"

"Oh!" Rocky ran over and sat. "I only had a chance to look for a second, but I think there's some shit here."

We walked over and looked over his shoulder; he pointed at a window with some programming code stuff I didn't understand. "Looks like the weird recording we heard when we came in... and the email she sent out... were on a timer. Went off automatically after she set it."

Jane scowled down at him. "You understand this?"

"Sure!" he replied. "This isn't so different from how I make my beats."

"Uh, we can't connect to the internet on this thing, can we?" I asked

"Oh!" Rocky clicked around. Nothing loaded. "Um... no. Some kind of internet network, but we can't get outside."

"Damn. Okay." I stood back up to my full height and sighed. "Rocky, could you try to find anything else that might be useful on there while we go search around?"

"Hell yeah!" Rocky enthused. " I get to be useful! Awesome!"

"Thanks." I paused. "Um, one more thing. Juliet had some book she was carrying around. It was like a diary a kid would have, pink and brown. If you find it, could you let me know?"

"Sure!" He paused. "Um, as long as I don't have to look at the dead body. I'm gonna just not look at it and pretend it isn't here."

"Pretty reasonable." I nodded to Jane and we headed out the door.

 **LIBRARY: MAIN ROOM**

We decided to start our search in the main lobby area, right where the stairs exited. I was grateful for the chance to delay having to look at that fallen bookcase.

The most obvious clue here were the two parallel streaks of yellow paint, each about three inches wide, snaking from the bookcase to the stairs we had just come down. We had followed these lines (and a few scattered yellow footprints) through the hallway from the rare books room and down the stairs, but they got notably fuller and darker as we got to the center of the room.

Jane gave a single snicker. "It's like a highway," she remarked. "No passing."

I nodded. "They're pretty even except where those smears are." I pointed to two places where the lines were smeared. "It looks like someone made this with their feet." I glanced over at her. "Did you or either of the guys make this when we came in?"

"No, we weren't coming from that direction, she answered. "Hm, but it does look like someone running, doesn't it? Not very carefully, if they stepped right in that hideous color." Jane was right; it looked like the footstep of someone running headlong who didn't care they were stepping in something slippery. "And it angles out only slightly, so it looks like they were running in the same direction as the lines."

"It looks like everything gets less faint the further we get from the stairs," I observed. "And..." I looked closer. I think one of these is different from the other. See? That one has, like... dark brown color marbling through it. See?." I stood up, confused.

* * *

 _ **FACT 14: YELLOW PAINT IN MAIN ROOM.**_ _  
Two parallel yellow lines are on the floor in the main room, between the fallen bookcase and the stairs to the rare books room. They get fainter the closer they are to the stairs. One of the lines has dark brown mixed in with it. There are smeared footprints in a couple of places, like someone running in the same direction as the lines._

* * *

Leaving the lines behind for now, I glanced up at the window, shattered and gaping. "How high up would you say it is?" I asked.

"Hmm, maybe... three and a half meters?" I looked at her blankly and she glared. "Ten or eleven feet, you neanderthal."

* * *

 _ **FACT 7: WINDOW (revised).**_ _  
The big, floor-to-ceiling window in the rare books room was smashed, and glass was all over the floor. It was about ten or eleven feet off the ground._

* * *

Looking up, I found myself distracted by the memory of Juliet looking down upon me from that window like some kind of empress. I remembered what Bepi said when Ashley died, "I really just thought she was immortal."

"Look here," Jane's voice called, startling me. She was kneeling, looking down at the floor underneath the window. I got closer and saw what she was looking at: there was piece of glass there with blood on it, and next to it, a narrow slit in the wooden floor, maybe an inch long. Jane rubbed her fingers across it. "Interesting, it's fairly deep. It looks like... something was planted here? Or thrust into the floor? Hm."

I examined the glass. "This isn't too big, but it looks like it made a nasty cut in someone." I scanned the floor nearby. "More blood... a trail. Heading from here to straight to the library maze. Something happened here, and then a person who was bleeding went off in that direction.

* * *

 _ **FACT 15: GLASS AND FISSURE.**_ _  
There was an, ugly piece of glass, covered in blood, in the main room under the window. Next to it, there was a small but deep slit, like something had been planted into the floor. There was a small blood trail leading from here to the stacks._

* * *

I glanced around at the bookcase and at the room, and I sighed. "Um, I'm trying to think of how to explain this to Rodrigo and Rocky, and it seems hard. Hm."

Jane raised an eyebrow. "Yes?"

"Hold on a second!" I ran off to the main entrance room, where I'd seen a deserted check-out desk. As I hoped, I found some stray paper and a couple of different-colored pens, and then I quickly ran back to Jane. Fortunately, it also gave me another minute to steel myself to deal with this whole thing.

"I already have the feeling this yellow paint thing is going to be confusing," I explained. "So, I'll draw diagrams for the guys." I sketched out a quick diagram of the room, and I showed it to Jane. She agreed with the basic details, but she added, "You're scale is pretty fucked up, though." I decided that was the closest I was going to get to a compliment.

 _ **[FOR SAYA'S DRAWING: see the author's profile]**_

I had run out of excuses to not go examine the fallen bookcase, but I felt myself tensing up at the very thought. Jane, perhaps noticing my uncertainty, put her hand softly on my forearm. "Are you..." she coughed. "Um. All." She coughed again. "Right?"

I blinked, surprised, and looked at her. "What?"

"Well. Darling. In the current situation, with Lucina. It would be understandable if you were upset. I, myself, of course, would be fine in your shoes, but I know some people have harder times with things."

I still stared at her blankly. "Lucina?"

"Well... yes." She seemed surprised by my surprise. "She does have quite the motive, does she not? I don't know everything, but it's clear she was horribly abused by her parents to make her silent. And... she's seen a video of Juliet, evil, manipulative supergenius, talking to who I can only assume was Lucina's father... about how girls should be silent. And immediately Juliet ends up dead."

I opened my mouth but found I couldn't say anything. It wasn't like this hadn't occurred to me, but I had done my very best to not think about it. "Katy knew about the DVD," I replied. "And she has the whole, 'sacrifice for pure love; thing. If she thought Lucina was going to commit murder, she might do it first to save her."

Jane frowned skeptically. "I suppose that's... possible."

"I think..." I said eventually, "I think this is not the time to talk about this. In the investigation, we should just take in the facts, and only think about the bigger picture later."

Jane pulled her hand away and nodded. "Very well. But. For what it's worth. Juliet was a vile person and the world is better with her dead."

I couldn't even begin to think about that kind of thing, so I just gestured to Jane to follow me and walked over to the entrance to the stacks. There was... a lot going on here.

The bookcase lay there, right at the start of the hallway into the stacks. Partly covered by the wooden bookcase, there was also a large puddle of yellow paint, getting sticky but still pretty wet. The two yellow lines emerged straight out of the puddle, one of them smeared by a single handprint. The books from the bookcase were strewn all around.

* * *

 _ **FACT 16: BOOKCASE AND YELLOW PAINT.**_ _  
There was a large paint puddle right at the entrance to the stacks. It was partly covered by the collapsed, wooden bookcase. The two yellow lines go out one side into the main room, with a single handprint smearing one of them next to the puddle._

* * *

There was also a very odd thing that looked very out-of-place: a pink hand-mirror, a crack running down the middle, sitting on the floor next to the upright bookcase.

* * *

 _ **FACT 17: HAND MIRROR.**_ _  
There was a pink hand mirror next to the bookcase._

* * *

"Well, this sucks," Jane commented.

I froze. "Um. I'm not liking that. What'd you find?" I walked a few feet over to the side, where she was kneeling over four glass containers, all with transparent liquid in them, completely indistinguishable from one another visually. This was seeming unpleasantly familiar..

"Yes, that sucks, I have to agree," I said.

"I smelled these two," Jane said, indicating the two on the left. "It was indeed Raindrops and Lollipop, or whatever ridiculous name that imbecile gave to his explosives." She picked up the next bottle and sniffed the liquid before pulling her face back and gagging. "Agh!"

"What?" I exclaimed, alarmed.

"Gah..." She set the glass down and scrunched up her nose. "It's fine, I was just not expecting it. That is not one of Barrett's explosives. That's very clearly paint thinner."

Confused, I quickly took a sniff of all three liquids myself. Yes, three of them were Barrett's explosives, and the fourth was paint thinner. I noticed, with some dread, that all four containers were more than half empty.

* * *

 _ **FACT 17: GLASS CONTAINERS.**_ _  
There were four containers near the entrance to the stacks, containing sugar, spice, everything nice, and paint thinner. Sugar, spice, and everything nice are inert on their own but violently explosive when all three are combined._

* * *

"Juliet said she'd collected some of these chemicals," I remarked. "Let's... just be very careful about what we smell, okay?"

Jane nodded. I nudged the bookcase with my foot, and to my surprise, it moved. It wasn't very heavy (especially compared to the other one), but I guess with the books in it, it would still be a lot. "Help me look under that?"

Jane looked down at the puddle, then she looked over at the bookshelf, then she looked at me. "No," she said.

"...What?" I asked, perplexed. "There might be something important under there."

She just looked back at the yellow paint, then back up to me. Her eyes got huge and watery, and she frowned adorably. "But... paint."

"Ugggh, come on, you baby," I snapped, walking over to the bookshelf. When I looked back, she was primly removing her coat and gloves.

When she joined me, she looked very annoyed. "If there's nothing under there, I'll vote for you in the trial just to be mean."

We squatted and got our fingers under the bookshelf, and we managed to tilt it upwards some. I noted again that it wasn't very heavy, and I leaned down to get a better look.

The first thing I noticed was that much of the bookcase and many of the books were charred black. Also, two of the bottom shelves were gone, like they'd been completely destroyed... this probably contributed to the bookcase being lighter than expected.

* * *

 _ **FACT 18: BOOKSHELF.**_ _  
A lot of the books and part of the bookcase were burned and charred. It looked like two of the shelves near the bottom of the bookcase had been obliterated._

* * *

"You could have lifted this stupid thing yourself," Jane grunted.

"No, I'm too sinewy," I replied, eliciting a glare. We dropped the bookcase back onto the floor. Jane hopped back to keep any yellow paint from spattering onto her dress, mostly succeeding.

"Ugh." Jane immediately went over to the paint thinner and used it to rinse the yellow off her hands. "Uh, be careful with that?" I called to her. "We have no way of knowing what would happen if we got paint thinner mixed in with any of those chemicals?"

"I can't hear you, I'm not wearing my gloves!" Jane cut me off, not turning around. I wondered if she was being bratty or if there actually was something about her body where she couldn't hear with her gloves off.

I remained next to the bookshelf, pointedly ignoring her. It's lucky I did that, because I noticed something else: a piece of string was lying on the floor in front of the bookcase.

I followed the string in the direction of the upright bookcase, and I found it went around the corner and ended in a full spool.. I then looked for the other end, and it extended for several feet across the paint puddle before ending in a nub. The thread was pretty thick and strong, and it was mostly white, but a big part in-between the two ends was yellow, and the broken-off end was black.

* * *

 _ **FACT 19: STRING.**_ _  
A string lay in front of the fallen bookcase, going around the corner and ending in a full spool. the other end was just a black nub._

* * *

Jane appeared next to me, fully dressed. "I found the conductor's shoes," she said casually.

I dropped the string. "What? Where?"

"Right there," she pointed, and yes, two converse all-stars sat next to a nearby trash can, white socks stuffed in them. "Those are hers, right?"

"Well... she wears shoes like that," I said, hesitantly.

* * *

 _ **FACT 20: LUCINA'S SHOES.**_ _  
Shoes and socks like the ones Lucina wears were near the fallen bookcase._

* * *

Trying not to think of the implications for that, I drew out a diagram of the entrance to the stacks. I almost didn't ask Jane's feedback this time, but I decided, in the interest of accuracy, it was best to do so. Luckily, she agreed without any snide comments.

 _ **[FOR SAYA'S DRAWING: see the author's profile]**_

 **LIBRARY: STACKS**

We had to crawl on our hands and knees across the bookshelf, but it wasn't too difficult. "Well, I was concerned about searching this place, since it's such a maze," I remarked. "But... I guess I shouldn't have been worried."

Clear, starkly yellow footprints led down the hall. "It looks like.. two different people," I mused. "See? This one has a longer stride. Hmm, and some of their footprints have that same brown that was out in the main room, remember?"

"I agree," Jane nodded. "They both go in the same direction, at least."

* * *

 _ **FACT 21: FOOTPRINTS.**_ _  
Two sets of footprints led down the hallway into the stacks. Both people were barefoot, and the one with a slightly longer stride had smears of a brown color mixed in some of their footprints. Both sets of footprints were even and wide, as if the people were running._

* * *

We headed down the hallway slowly, following the seemingly random twists and turns of the footprints. The shelves that made up the walls of the hallway were a couple of feet taller than either of us, and the whole place just felt oppressive. But luckily, it wasn't long before we noticed something else: two more pairs of footprints going the other way, getting less faint as we went.

"Ah," Jane mused. "So, these are the footprints going in, and these are the same people coming back out. The yellow paint fades off as they go."

I nodded. "Yeah, probably. It looks like the same two sets of footprints."

* * *

 _ **FACT 21: FOOTPRINTS (revised).**_ _  
Two sets of footprints led down the hallway into the stacks. Both people were barefoot, and the one with a slightly longer stride had smears of a brown color mixed in some of their footprints. Both sets of footprints were even and wide, as if the people were running. The same two sets of footprints came back the same way, but the yellow paint faded off before they reached the exit._

* * *

It was eerie, following footprints. It felt like chasing ghosts. After a few more turns, we found another surprise. One of the sets of footprints heading out of the stacks ended suddenly.

"It's brownfoot," I remarked, referring to the person with the longer stride and the dark color mixed in with their yellow paint. Luckily, Jane knew what I meant.

I looked around, scratching my head in confusion. There was no sign of anything strange. One of the bookcases nearby was empty, which was a little unusual, but otherwise it was just a completely typical section of the stacks.

* * *

 _ **FACT 22: FOOTPRINTS SUDDEN START:**_ _  
"Brownfoot's" exiting footprints suddenly appear out of nowhere, for no clear reason. Other than the fact that one of the nearby bookcases is empty, there is nothing unusual about the place where it happens._

* * *

Jane rubbed her chin as she thought for a moment. "Let me check something," she announced. She walked to a nearby hallway, a path the footprints didn't take, searching the floor, but she stopped suddenly.

"Um, darling, could you come here a moment?" she called, not moving a muscle.

"Uh... sure?" I followed her, confused, but when I got right behind her I froze, too.

"Is it my imagination?" she asked.

"Nope," I replied.

I could clearly smell ginger... the distinctive odor of one of Barrett's chemicals. And underneath that, I think I caught a fainter whiff of vanilla, which represented another of his chemicals.

"Let's just back up slowly," I suggested. We carefully backed out of the hall and back to where the footprints were.

"It's lucky I have such a remarkable sense of smell," Jane remarked. "It's likely all three chemicals are coated on the floor on that path. If we'd gotten all three on our soles... boom."

I glanced down at the footprints. "If some of these paths are coated with Barrett's chemicals, it's amazing whoever this is didn't run right into them. They're zig-zagging around the maze like crazy, so they must've been really lucky to avoid getting blown up."

* * *

 _ **FACT 23: CHEMICALS IN THE STACKS.**_ _  
Some of the paths in the stacks have been coated with all three of Barrett's chemicals and would be very dangerous to run down. The footprints appear to entirely avoid these paths._

* * *

I don't know why, but that was sort of chilling. "Let's keep going," I said.

But there wasn't much farther to go. The footprints made a right turn, and then, a few steps later, "brownfoot's" just stopped.

The other set of footprints kept going another two steps past that and then also stopped, but the reason there was more clear. There was a string (the same kind as from the spool outside, it seemed) tied between the bookshelves at shin-height, and that was the end of the running footprints: the entering ones stopped there and the exiting ones started there. A couple of feet past the string, there were a few footprints pointing in various directions.

"Uh, okay." I say, trying to wrap my head around this. "So... this person, brownfoot, just disappears in thin air. And the other person ran right into this tripwire, then got up and started running back the other way."

"Indeed," Jane agreed, kneeling down by the string. "It's just a string, no mechanism or anything. Nonetheless, if you were running full-speed, you'd take quite a spill. You'd probably be stunned for at least a few minutes."

* * *

 _ **FACT 24: FOOTPRINTS' SUDDEN END.**_ _  
"Brownfoot's" footprints stop suddenly after rounding a corner. The other footprints carry on a couple of more steps, before the person apparently tripped over a tripwire. Then they seem to have started running back the other way._

* * *

"Well, good job, Dr. Watson, we wasted our time," Jane remarked. "Two people ran into these hallways, one of them tripped, and then they ran back out. Surely the murder is as good as solved.'

I decided to ignore her, and I pulled out my pens and paper. I drew out a quick sketch of this area.

 _ **[FOR SAYA'S DRAWING: see the author's profile]**_

With nothing else apparent to find, we followed the footprints back to the main room.

 **LIBRARY: MAIN ROOM**

We had to crawl back over the bookcase to get out, and the paint puddle extended far enough out to make exiting difficult. We probably could have jumped, but it was too precarious to stand up, so there was just no way to get out without yellowing at least one of our hands or feet. Jane was very vocal about her dislike of this situation.

Eventually, we got out, my head starting to hurt, but I quickly heard Monokuma's voice blasting out over the speakers. "There you are! The witnesses are ready to be interviewed now! Please proceed to the periodicals room near the entrance!"

I hadn't gotten all ice-cold this investigation, I realized. I wasn't overwhelmed by my feelings, but I hadn't turned them off. But the thought of talking to Katy and Lucina put me over the edge. I took a deep breath, nodded to Jane, and headed off.

 **LIBRARY: PERIODICALS ROOM**

All four of them were waiting for me. Monokuma held his shotgun casually. Rodrigo had positioned himself between the bear and the girls, but the expression on his face didn't look strong. Katy and Lucina were both seated against the wall, ankles and wrists tied.

But Katy wasn't gagged any more. As soon as she saw me, she screeched out, "Saya! I did it! I killed her! You have to..."

Like lightning, Monokuma zipped over to her shoving the barrel of the gun into her face. "And what did I just say, Miss Thorson?!" he barked. "That was your one warning! If either of you break the rules again, I will end it all right here!"

* * *

 _ **FACT 25: KATY'S CONFESSION.**_  
 _Katy admitted to murdering Juliet._

* * *

He glared over at me, then up at Rodrigo. "Think I won't? Think I'd hesitate for a second about writing off this train wreck of a semester and just hoping the next class is better?"

Katy went silent, but she wasn't looking at the gun, she was looking at me, pleadingly. I noticed that she was more beat-up than I'd thought, with a badly bloody nose.

"He has not hurt them; all of their injuries are the same as when we arrived," Rodrigo said. "But he has been... quite unhinged in his demeanor. I fear he is telling the truth."

"You're damn right I am, you creatures of chaos!" the bear snapped, waving his gun around. "Now, here's how this is going to work. You, detectives." He pointed right at me and Jane. "You will be allowed to ask three questions of each of our two witnesses. They may lie, of course! BUT. If they attempt to provide any information that is NOT an answer to the question, I will blow their brains out right then and there. I don't want to kill them right after bandaging up all their cuts, but I'll do it! Is anyone confused about this?!"

He gave us about five full seconds to respond. Those silent five seconds were pretty awful.

"All right, I think Miss Thorson needs to cool off, so we'll start with Miss Sorenson! Mr. Diaz!" he whirled on Rodrigo. "Please take Miss Thorson outside. If you attempt to untie her or speak to her, I'll kill you both. Remember, I'm always watching!"

Rodrigo stared at him for a moment. It took me a moment, but I realized he looked angry... I'm not sure I'd ever seen that before. But, he gently picked up Katy and carried her out of the room.

When they were gone, Monokuma picked up a pen and paper and set them down next to Lucina. Then, he nodded to me and Jane. "All right, proceed. And NO, you can't ask stupid GENERAL questions like 'What happened tonight.' The whole point of this is to make it so the execution isn't a foregone conclusion!"

I glanced at Jane, but she seemed perfectly happy to let me take the lead. I tried not to look at Lucina, but I couldn't help myself. She was barefoot, and her feet were almost completely bandaged, but her clothes looked undamaged... though covered in blood like the rest of her, of course. Looking closer, I noticed some small bandages on her arms.

I took a deep breath, trying not to get distracted by the desperation on Lucina's face. I knew "how" and "why" questions would provide more information than others, but it was overwhelming to think of exactly what to ask.

"All right," I said eventually. I looked up at Lucina as warmly as I could. "Why did Katy confess to Juliet's murder just now?"

Lucina had a grateful expression, but it quickly became an annoyed expression as she attempted to pick up the pen and write with it when her wrists were both bound. But eventually she wrote out an ugly, _To try to protect me, the real killer. I badgered her into giving me my DVD, so she knew I had a reason to do it._

I had been very afraid of pretty much exactly that response.

* * *

 _ **FACT 26: LUCINA'S CONFESSION.**_ _  
Lucina admitted to murdering Juliet._

* * *

"That's one!" Monokuma bellowed.

I took a deep breath, and then let out a little chuckle. "Damn it, this is tense."

Lucina gave me an empathic, soft look and I immediately fell in love with her again. Luckily, Jane walked up behind me. "Would you like me to ask one, darling?"

I nodded, grateful. Jane strode forward, examining Lucina carefully. "How did Juliet get each of her injuries?"

Lucina started to write, but Monokuma banged the butt of his shotgun against the floor. "No! Too general!"

"Grph." Jane gathered herself and tried again. "How did you kill Juliet?"

Lucina wrote the answer even faster than usual; she must have expected this question. _I lifted her up and hung her in the noose. I set it so she was standing on a single book, which wasn't enough to kill her, but it would hurt. I had found a knife in there earlier . I used it to cut her. I made it last as long as I could. I wish it had lasted longer. When she looked almost unconscious, I kicked the book out from under her, so she'd hang, too. It was all me. Katy never had anything to do with it._

 _"_ That's two!"

* * *

 _ **FACT 26: LUCINA'S CONFESSION (revised).**_ _  
Lucina admitted to murdering Juliet. She says she took the knife from Juliet's office earlier, and then later she hanged Juliet and used the knife to cut her._

* * *

The pieces were not fitting together, and I noticed something else as Lucina was writing. Besides her feet, she was _not_ completely unhurt: she was favoring her shoulder.

* * *

 _ **FACT 27: WITNESSES' CONDITION:**_ _  
Lucina's feet are bandaged, and she is favoring her shoulder. She has a couple of bandages on her arms. Otherwise, she appears unhurt._

* * *

I tried to ask about the context of the rest of what I'd seen. "Why did you go into the stacks?"

She hesitated with this one. _I was chasing Juliet,_ she wrote eventually. _She ran off, and I followed her footprints. She got away from me, but I managed to catch her with the trap I'd set from the string and the explosives._

* * *

 _ **FACT 26. LUCINA'S TESTIMONY.**_ _  
Lucina says she chased Juliet into the stacks. Juliet escaped, but Lucina managed to catch her by setting a trap._

* * *

"That's three!" Monokuma shouted. He very abruptly fired his gun at the ceiling, which startled me so much, I fell down.

Rodrigo ran into the room. "What happened? Is everyone safe?!"

Monokuma turned to him, nodding politely. "Ah, Mr. Diaz! Please be so kind as to bring Miss Sorenson outside and bring Miss Thorson in here?"

Baffled, with my ears still ringing, I dumbly watched Rodrigo pick up Lucina and leave, then return with Katy. As he left, I gaped at Monnokuma. "Are you just going to keep firing that thing?"

"If it'll cut through the chaos of your weak, postmodern identity politics, of course I will!" he snapped.

I kept gaping, but Katy's voice surprised me. "It's all right, Saya. I dough thick he'll shoot you."

I blinked, realizing how awful it would be to laugh at what her stopped-up nose did to her speech, given the circumstances. But luckily, that brought me out of my shock; I glanced back at Jane and reached up my hand; she rolled her eyes but pulled me up to my feet.

"All right," I said, regarding her carefully. She was clearly in much worse shape than Lucina, though there was just as much blood on her clothes and body. She looked like she was in pain in various places from the way she was shifting around. Her bare feet were bandaged just like Lucina's, and she also had small bandages on her arms. Notably, though, she had a longer bandage on the side of her neck.

* * *

 _ **FACT 27: WITNESSES' CONDITION (revised):**_ _  
Lucina's feet are bandaged, and she is favoring her shoulder. Otherwise, she appears unhurt. Katy also has bandages on her feet and small ones on her arms, but she also has a bloody nose, pain in various places in her body, and a longer bandage on the side of her neck._

* * *

"Let's start with the obvious one," I said, as kindly as I could. "How did you kill Juliet?"

"Um." Katy wouldn't meet my eyes, and her voice was ragged. "I cut her. A lot. For a log time, over ad over, with her own knife. I put her up in the doose, so it'd be eveeh worse than what she did to Emily. I watted her to be straggled and cut at the same time."

"That's one!"

* * *

 _ **FACT 25: KATY'S CONFESSION (revised).**_ _  
Katy admitted to murdering Juliet. Her story is very similar to Lucina's._

* * *

Jane was not as polite as I was, and apparently couldn't resist chortling at how ridiculous Katy sounded.

I raised an eyebrow and tried to ignore her. "How did Lucina get all that blood on her if she wasn't involved?"

"Modokuma," Katy answered, still looking down. "Wheh he appeared, he threw us both dow in the blood to tie us up."

"That's two!" Monokuma bellowed.

I grimaced at Monokuma. "That's not fair," I argued. "The answer to that was something you did. That shouldn't count."

"My game, my rules!" he replied happily. "But, as a gesture of good will, I'll go ahead and tell you her answer to that question was true. Right after the door opened, bam! I knocked 'em down and tied 'em up at gunpoint! I felt like a cowboy. Pu hu hu!"

* * *

 _ **FACT 28. BLOOD ON KATY AND LUCINA.**_ _  
Katy and Lucina both got bloody from being thrown on the floor by Monokuma when he tied them up._

* * *

"Grf." His pride was abhorrent... though I did have a useful clue from knowing at least some of the blood on both of them came from that... and probably the cuts on their arms came from the glass on the floor.

I shook my head to recenter, and looked back at Katy. Unlike Lucina, who was nearly frantic, Katy just looked miserable and nauseated. I felt my heart go out to her, despite my best efforts. "Hey," I said. "Everything is okay. We'll figure this out. And you're with friends."

She finally looked up and made eye contact; tear streams in the blood on her cheeks. She nodded.

I'd already decided the last question to ask. "Why did you go into the stacks?"

"Uh." She looked away again, but then looked back. "I did't. Juliet was chasing Lucina. I stayed outside ad set a trap ad waited."

* * *

 _ **FACT 29: KATY'S TESTIMONY.**_ _  
Katy says that Juliet chased Lucina into the stacks, and she herself set a trap and waited for Juliet to come back._

* * *

"Okay, that's it!" Monnokuma yelped. "And that's the investigation! Please head outside, and..."

"Hey, hold up!" Rocky's voice interrupted from the loudspeaker. "I got one more thing to show everybody!"

"Gah!" Monnokuma jumped in surprise. "Don't spy on us, you creep! And too bad, time's up!"

"Uh, well, if you want to make the trial harder, I think you probably want people to see this?"

Monokuma paused, then waved his paws around violently. "Fine! But hurry! Hurry hurry!"

I glanced at Jane, and we headed to the door. I deliberately did not glance at Katy on my way.

 **LIBRARY: MAIN ROOM**

Rodrigo declined to come with us, saying he preferred to stay to protect and offer support to Katy and Lucina. I was grateful, but again I shivered a bit about how much trust was being put in me.

As we quickly walked through to the rare books room, I nudged Jane. "How strong would you say Katy and Lucina are?"

Jane frowned in thought. "Both pretty strong, I'd say. Physically, of course, not mentally."

I ignored the insult, trying to stay focused. "But stronger than Juliet, probably?"

"Yesss, probably," she replied. "Lucina seems strong, and she'd have good leverage from being so tall. Katy is a little shorter than Juliet, but she's got lots of muscle. Does yoga, or something." She held up a finger. "But I wouldn't be surprised if Juliet had some sort of psychotic fighting power. Amorality gets you quite far, I should know."

* * *

 _ **FACT 30. STRENGTH.**_ _  
Both Katy and Lucina are probably stronger than Juliet was, but Juliet's nature might plausibly overcome that disadvantage_.

* * *

 **LIBRARY: RARE BOOKS ROOM**

When we arrived, Rocky waved us over to the computer. "Two things," he said quickly. He pointed at the monitor. "There were two new files... both videos. This one here..." He pointed at one labeled MY COMPOSITION, "...is password-locked and I can't open it. But it was created earlier today, at around 10:44."

I blinked. "That's about five minutes before Juliet died," I remarked.

* * *

 _ **FACT 31: 'MY COMPOSITION' VIDEO.**_ _  
There was an unopenable video on the rare books computer, which was created just before Juliet died._

* * *

"Okay, yeah, but this is the big one," Rocky said quickly. "This one; I can open it. It's from 10:20, and... well, just watch it yourself."

He moved the arrow over to the icon. The file was called CONFESSION. He clicked it.

Juliet popped up on the screen, sitting primly at the desk. Despite her calm, official demeanor, her hair was mussed and she was breathing hard. "Thank you for watching this," she said, sounding just slightly agitated. "This was not a suicide. It was murder."

She looked up and around the room firmly, as if searching for a hidden listening device. "Do you hear me? This is not a suicide. It is a murder. It has to be, because look." She pointed off the screen. "I made six nooses, one for each the students _except_ me. It had to be, because I will not let myself commit suicide."

* * *

 _ **FACT 32: 'CONFESSION' VIDEO.**_ _  
About a half-hour before she died, Juliet recorded a video of herself where she repeatedly asserted she was not committing suicide._

* * *

"I made traps in the bookshelves," she continued, getting more aroused and upset. "I tied tripwires... they won't kill anyone, because I'll want to do that myself. I spread the explosives on some of the floors... also probably not enough to be deadly. I hope.

"Oh! And I put the paint on the floor, so I'd be able to track anyone through the maze. She'll be helpless. With all these tools at my disposal, she'll be helpless. I can defend myself." She held up the butcher's knife, a small stream of blood on the blade. "I can..."

She looked down to her side. Annoyed, she set the knife down on the desk and whipped her hand down as fast as a cobra. There was the distinctive sound of a palm striking a face, and an offscreen voice shrieked and moaned, gutteral and agonized and impossible to identify.

Juliet looked back up at the screen and started to speak again, but she held up her hand and glanced at it; there was blood on her palm. She disgustedly wiped her hand on her blouse, then looked back down at the groaning person. "Oh, shut up, it's not even broken."

* * *

 _ **FACT 31: 'CONFESSION' VIDEO (revised).**_ _  
About a half-hour before she died, Juliet recorded a video of herself where she repeatedly asserted she was not committing suicide. She admitted to setting traps and leaving the paint in the stacks. There was someone injured in the room with her, and she hit them at one point, drawing blood._

* * *

She ran her hands through her hair in an apparent attempt to calm herself down, and she looked back at the screen. "I could never put myself in a position to die," she asserted. "Never, never, never. I could never handicap myself, do you hear me? That would be suicide, and I can't commit suicide. It was a murder."

She had tears in her eyes at this point. "If it was suicide, then I would like to die for love. Or for revenge. Either one would be something I deserve. But... but it doesn't matter, because this wasn't a suicide. This..."

The sound of shattering glass cut her off, and she turned in surprise to her side. Glass shattered again, and Juliet closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She reached over onto the desk and picked up a pink hand-mirror... the same one we'd found down by the fallen bookcase. She looked at herself, preening and fluffing her hair in the mirror. "This is it," she murmured. "You look beautiful."

* * *

 _ **FACT 16: HAND MIRROR (revised).**_ _  
There was a pink hand mirror next to the bookcase. Juliet had it with her when her confession video ended._

* * *

Still holding on to the mirror, she reached over with her other hand and picked the knife up off the desk. Then she looked back at the computer, apparently turning the recording off. There was a tiny look of relief on her face when she did it.

"Ugh," Jane grunted. "Monstrous person. What did she even mean, this wasn't a suicide?"

"I don't know," I said, suddenly exhausted. "But... she's told me she's tried to kill herself a lot in the past, but she never lets herself go through with it. Who knows if it's even true."

"If it means anything, I checked some of the cameras in here, and it looks like she did set a bunch of tripwires through the stacks."

I nodded. "Yeah, we saw one. And we smelled the chemicals, too. I don't think she was lying about those. But..." Rocky looked up at me curiously and I sighed. "Whatever happened at the entrance to the stacks, by that paint puddle... that one was different. That one involved string _and_ the chemicals, and Juliet's traps _in_ the stacks just used one or the other."

* * *

 _ **FACT 31: 'CONFESSION' VIDEO (revised).**_ _  
About a half-hour before she died, Juliet recorded a video of herself where she repeatedly asserted she was not committing suicide. She admitted to setting traps and leaving the paint in the stacks. There was someone injured in the room with her, and she hit them at one point, drawing blood. The video ended with two sounds of glass shattering._

* * *

Rocky looked up at us hopefully "Hey, can we get out of the dead body room now, please?"

"Yeah." I clapped him on the shoulder. "Thanks for your help." I looked at Jane. "You, too."

Rocky paused. "Sorry we're not Bepi," he said, very abruptly.

I whipped my head up at him in surprise. "...what?"

He and Jane shared an uncomfortable look, and he continued, "Just... Bepi was good at this shit. You and him were a team. Like, we're trying to help. Roddy, too! But... we're not as good as him."

"Don't say 'not as good as,'" Jane snapped. "Because it's simply factually untrue, in my case. But... different. In... perhaps a less helpful way."

"He wasn't very helpful last time, when he was trying to cover up his murder," I said, as unemotionally as I could.

"Uh... he kinda was, actually," Rocky replied. "Like, it didn't make sense, but he was." There was a bit of a pause, then he looked right at me. "Do you, um... know who did it?"

"No," I answered simply, then I realized something. "Oh, did you find that diary?"

"Oh, yeah!" Rocky ran over to the desk and grabbed it. "I looked at it, but it didn't seem to mean anything to me. I..."

"Hey!" Monokuma's voice was piercing. "You're done! Get to the trial room! Now now now!"

Sharing a tired, overwhelmed look, the three of us headed off towards the main quad, where the elevator down to the trial room awaited.

Juliet, evil, confounding Juliet... was dead. I didn't believe in the death penalty even before coming to murder-college, but even the small glimpses I had of her crimes shook the foundation of that particular moral value. If anyone deserved to die, she did. If anyone didn't deserve to die, it was whoever killed her. This unfair, vicious place was going to act out its cruelty again.

As we walked, Rocky looked over and said, "I hope it's not Luce. ...Is that bad of me?"

I had no idea what to say.

* * *

 _As usual, the murder should be solvable at this point._

 _I have a survey for people to make their guesses, provide feedback, and answer a few other questions. I strongly encourage anyone interested in how the story's going to fill it out! Sometimes a little thing like filling out a survey can make a big difference._

 _LINK: docs . google forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdRe85wBRvDj7qfOadtk0d0F0x7wbAMwYArb7N6kvIcmEaW0w/viewform?usp=sf_link (Also on my profile)_


	42. Mimesis in Theory and Practice, Part F

The trial room was blank: white walls, floor and ceiling. No knick-knacks or decorations. Only the familiar circle of lecterns stood out... Bepi's picture standing in his place (a crude M.I.A. scrawled over it), while Juliet smiled sweetly at everyone from behind a lipstick-drawn XOXO.

But the surprising emptiness very quickly disappeared with something even more surprising: as we stepped closer to the center of the room, the floor around the lecterns spun around, revealing two rows of large machines.

"What?!" Rodrigo barked.

Jane glanced up at Monokuma, indicating the machines with a nod of her head. "Are you offering us suntans, darling?" She was right; the machines did look like tanning booths: reclining seats in a little cyber-pod.

"Oh, something more exciting than that!" Monokuma answered, skipping to his place. "We have a special treat for you! We don't have some boring, brick-and-mortar trial room! Step into the future with our virtual trial room!"

"Virtual... are you kidding?" I asked him, glaring. "Why? What's the point?"

"Technology is its own point!" he crowed. "We have to appreciate the wonders that rationality can produce! The Western World..."

"Gahhhh okay, okay!" Rocky interrupted. "We'll get in your stupid machine!"

"It'll be worth it!" Monokuma promised. "Trust me. There's stuff in there you're going to want to see."

Some people grudgingly approached the pods, but I eyed Monokuma suspiciously. "This is dumb. We're just putting ourselves in danger."

"Huh?" Monokuma asked, tilting his head in confusion. "Why would this be dangerous."

Other people were also seeming confused, and I blushed slightly. "You know," I said. "You die in the simulation, you die in real life. That sort of thing."

"What?" Monokuma couldn't change expressions, but I got the sense he was looking at me in utter bafflement. "Why would you die in real life if you died in the simulation?"

"Uh." I realized I hadn't thought this through, but I also didn't want to back down. "You know. If you think you're dead, then... you're dead."

By now, everyone was looking at me weirdly. "Do you need me to go get a dictionary and look up the word 'simulation' for you?" Monokuma asked.

"No!" I snapped. "But... well, but you could just shoot us while we're lying in the pods!"

"Oh, give me a break, my programming doesn't even allow me to hurt you unless you break a rule!" He paused. "I should not have said that." He paused more. "Oh well, we're almost done. Anyway! You got it backwards! It's a rule that you have to get in, so I'll shoot you if you _don't_!"

I glared but couldn't think of any other arguments. I walked to my pod and grudgingly started figuring out how to hook myself up.

"Oh, cheer up!" Monokuma assured us. "You'll like it, I promise. There's a couple of surprises I can't wait for you to see."

"Dude, that's like the most ominous thing you could have said," Rocky remarked.

"Pu hu hu!" the bear laughed, "at least I still got that!"

I think everyone just decided continuing to talk to him was useless. I sat in the pod, strapped myself in to the included helmet piece, and pushed the big red button in front of me. As the lid slowly lowered shut, the last thing I saw was Katy staring at me, hopelessness in her eyes.

 **VIRTUAL REALITY: SYLVAN GLEN**

From a dark grey void, the world flickered to life. It was less disorienting than I thought. I was standing behind my typical podium in the trial circle, looking at Ashley's death-portrait across from me, but we were in a beautiful, tranquil forest clearing, moss-covered and shaded. It was autumn.

"Holy shit," Rocky mumbled. I was inclined to agree. The detail was amazing, I could look down and see my hands plain as day, and when I moved, I felt the weight and the motion.

"Ehehe," snickered Juliet. "Look at Jane, she's all better."

I did look at Jane, who seemed confused and annoyed. She wasn't wearing her gloves, and her bare arms had just the same shade of color as her face. Her skin was actually beautiful, and she...

My brain suddenly caught up. I froze, still staring at Jane. I felt like one of those people in a horror movie who's scared to turn around because there might be a ghost there.

"Ods bodkins!" Rodrigo shouted. "It is the demon!"

I finally looked, and... yes. It was the demon. Juliet stood there, smiling languidly around the circle.

"I told you, you'd like the surprises!" Monokuma called over from his perch atop a nearby boulder.

Juliet laughed softly. "Well! Judging by the way everyone's looking at me, I guess I must be dead. That's..."

"Shut the fuck up," said a voice I'd never heard before.

Despite the harshness of its tone, I actually swooned a little bit at this voice. It was incredibly gorgeous and musical, like a whole orchestra. So, I wasn't alone when it took me a couple of seconds to even try to figure out where the voice had come from.

But when I tried, the answer didn't make sense. Because the spot where I thought the voice had come from was occupied by...

"Lucina!" Katy gasped in absolute wonder. "You talked!"

"I... did," Lucina agreed, looking just as surprised as everyone else.

"I tooolllddd you you'd like the surpriiiisssesssss!" Monokuma crowed.

"It's been such a long time," Lucina marveled, her hand delicately touching her own throat. Then she blinked and pointed across the circle at the smug-looking ultimate girlfriend. "No. Forget about me. What's _she_ doing here?"

"I thought you might miss your recently departed friend!" Monokuma replied cheerfully. "This simulation is based on all we know about her. Isn't it impressive? The Ultimate Personality Psychologist is a real genius, isn't he?"

"Uh, okay," Rocky said, "well... Juliet, who killed you?"

Juliet rolled her eyes. "I'm just a simulation of Juliet; I don't have her memories. I'm just who she was at the point she came to the school."

Katy looked caught between nauseated and terrified as she beheld Juliet. "Then how come you aren't acting like you did then? All innocent?"

"It'd be pointless," Juliet replied, shrugging. "I'd definitely have revealed myself by the point in the game where there'd be so few people left."

"Wait, fiend!" Rodrigo declared, pointing at her. "How did you even know about this game, if you lack your flesh-and-blood counterpart's memory!?"

"Oh, I have access to some of the databases here," Juliet replied casually. "Information about the game and about all of the students. Including some very interesting information regarding myself, which was not to be released until the final exam. I'm... relieved I died before I could find out."

"Do you mean whatever was in that diary?" I asked, arching an eyebrow. "No, you had that, but you didn't let anyone else see. It got released early."

Juliet started to speak, then paused. She glanced up at Monokuma. "Well. How unexpected."

"Aggh, don't even talk to me about that!" Monokuma groaned. "I can't go against the thought-leaders in charge here, but..." he paused, shaking his head as if to clear it. "Never mind! We're in a trial, and trials make sense! Oh, and by the way..."

He clapped his paws and suddenly it was like a force field popped up in front of Katy and Lucina. They got all blurry and I suddenly couldn't perceive any sound from where they were standing.

"I can block off communication from anyone, to anyone!" the bear snapped. "Miss Sorenson and Miss Thorson may not contribute any of their witness knowledge to the solving of this case in any way! If they try, I'll just block 'em off before they can even start speaking!" He snickered slightly, then raised a paw as if remembering something. "Oh! And if, for any reason, you want to communicate privately with someone, go ahead and tell me!"

"Yo, I want to do that," Rocky said. "Let me talk to Rodrigo for a second, okay?"

"Very well!" And with a clap, a semi-transparent set of walls suddenly appeared around me. But, after only a few seconds, they disappeared and I was suddenly met with the sound of Rocky laughing. Rodrigo had his hand over his mouth, obviously trying to avoid breaking.

"New rule!" Monokuma barked, fuming. "Students may not abuse the force field system to call your adviser a fuck-balls!"

"Fuck-balls," Jane mused, giving Rocky an approving nod. "Excellent."

"Gaaugh!" Monokuma waved his arms around. "Stop! You've had your fun, now solve the murder! Any more nonsense and I'll just make you vote here and now!"

"Yes, let's please get down to business," Juliet said. "I'm quite curious about the identity of my murderer."

No one seemed to want to talk, but eventually Rodrigo got the ball rolling. "All right. We... we have more information this time than before. Because we know the killer could only possibly be one of two people."

* * *

 _ **FACT 2: MONOKUMA'S STATEMENT.**_ _  
Monokuma is the one who tied up and gagged Lucina and Katy; he also bandaged and dressed any cuts they had. He didn't interfere in any other part of the crime scene. Monokuma told us that Juliet's killer was in the rare books room when we came in._

* * *

"And only Friend Katy and Friend Lucina were present."

Jane raised if her eyebrow. "That is, if we decide to trust the murderbear. Which we shouldn't."

"Nay, Friend Jane," Rodrigo argued. "Even my minimal examination of the corpse suggested she had not been dead long, which matches other information we were given."

* * *

 _ **FACT 3: BODY REPORT.**_ _  
Juliet had a broken leg, a broken arm, a crushed larynx, and extensive cuts all over her body. She died of blood loss under ten minutes before we arrived on the scene._

* * *

"I cannot see any way in which she died early this morning, but the rest of us were together, first at breakfast, and then watching the video on the magic computer. Alas, the killer could only be the two suspects in question."

"Wait!" Rocky interrupted. "Hold on a second. No, that's not true! Monokuma said the killer was already in the room when we all arrived. But Luce and Katy weren't the only people in the room! Juliet was also there! What if she committed suicide?!"

"Hm." Jane tapped her chin in thought. "Do you know who else was in the room, darling? The bear himself."

Monokuma gasped loudly. "How could you even suggest a humble educator like me could do something so terrible as commit murder?!"

"Yeah, he was there, too!" Rocky agreed. "So it could have been him, too! So maybe both Luce and Katy are inno..."

"You're wrong," I interrupted.

Everyone looked at me in surprise. I just shrugged.

"Beg pardon?" Jane asked.

"Rocky's wrong," I answered. I had no interest at all in approaching hopeful dead-ends with this trial; I couldn't take it. "It had to be either Lucina or Katy."

Katy was just gaping at me. "Y... yes, you're right, but how can you prove it?"

"It's the same reason for both," I replied. "The way we found the body."

* * *

 _ **FACT 3: BODY REPORT.**_ _  
Juliet had a broken leg, a broken arm, a crushed larynx, and extensive cuts all over her body. She died of blood loss under ten minutes before we arrived on the scene._

* * *

"My goodness," Juliet whispered, pressing her hand against her chest.

"Why does that mean Monokuma or Juliet couldn't have been responsible for the deaths?" Rodrigo asked.

"Because of the other important thing of the way we found her."

* * *

 _ **FACT 4: NOOSE.**_ _  
Juliet's feet dangled about an inch off the floor. The nooses were all different heights._

* * *

"Juliet was in one of the lower nooses, but it was still over five and a half feet off the ground. And we all saw why Monokuma couldn't be responsible for getting her up there."

 _Now!" he shouted officially. "Investigate! Hurry! I'm going to take these witnesses somewhere they can't cause any more trouble while you're doing that!" He strode over to Lucina and grabbed the rope tied around her ankles. He pulled, straining backwards, and she didn't move a centimeter._

 _After a few moments of straining, he walked to her head and tried to grab her under the shoulders to lift her up, having no success at all._

"He couldn't even drag Lucina across the floor. There's no way he could lift Juliet up into the noose, much less reach up there to hang her or make all those cuts."

"But what about Juliet herself?" Jane asked. "She would definitely be able to reach the noose. Remember? There were stacks of books on the floor, and if she stood on some, she could just reach up."

I shook my head. "Not with a broken arm and leg. I don't think she could balance on a stack of books while reaching up, and she'd need both hands to her her head in the noose and tighten it."

Jane grimaced at me, a little petulant. "Still, it's not impossible."

"It is," I insisted. "The cuts were all over her body, including on her right arm. Even, precise cuts. She couldn't have made those her her left arm like that."

Rocky looked like he was going to argue, but he eventually just sighed. "Okay," he said. "So it has to be Luce or Katy. But why would either of them kill Juliet? Why now, after all this time?"

"Ugh," Jane grunted, rolling her eyes. "Because of the video we watched, obviously."

"Oh yeah," Rocky said, scratching his head. "Uh, I didn't really get that."

I glanced up at Monokuma. "Can we hear Lucina explain that? It's not giving us new information."

"Hmmmm. All right! But!" The bear pointed starkly at Lucina. "Don't try to sneak anything in, or I'll cut you right off!"

Lucina blushed reflexively when we all looked at her, but it didn't affect the beauty of her voice. "Uh. Okay. That video was made by my father. He's a speech therapist... he's always taped a lot of his appointments, because the patients can look back at the way they move their mouths."

"It helped," Juliet said. "We'd always chat like that at the start of appointments. I think he liked me."

Lucina wouldn't even look at her. "He was always... critical. Neither of my parents were ever afraid to be cruel. But when I really started getting into music, it..." She trailed off, looking down at the ground. "I can't talk about what they did." She laughed darkly, pressing her long, lithe fingers against her forehead. "'Can't talk about it.'" Juliet laughed too and we all successfully ignored her. "They hurt me."

"They were monsters," Katy snarled.

Lucina whipped her head at her. "N...no! They..."

"They actually were," Juliet remarked. "Your father was a sociopath. Your mother was psychotic and unmedicated. Or just undermedicated; I couldn't tell, I was seven."

"Shut. Up." Lucina's voice was icy and vicious.

"The video showed Juliet was his patient," Katy jumped in quickly. "And she's the one who gave him the idea."

"She's the reason," Lucina spat. "All this time, it was her. All she's ever done is hurt people. And she didn't even know me, but she saw her chance and... and she convinced them."

"It's not..." Juliet began, but then she just sighed. "Whatever. That's Lucina, but why would Katy want to kill me?"

"Christ, this is so weird..." Rocky muttered.

"Because I love Lucina!" Katy declared. "I hate Juliet for what she did, too!"

"Let's not forget the whole 'sacrifice' point," Jane said. "If Katy thought Lucina was going to commit murder, she'd do it first to protect her from getting executed." I tried to keep myself from glaring at her; I gave that theory to her earlier and she acted like it was silly.

"I fear Friend Lucina might do the same if she thought Friend Katy might commit murder."

"Ugh," Jane grunted. "So they both have a motive to kill Juliet, including the other one's motive to kill Juliet. This is why human relationships are asinine."

"Okay, well... how do we figure out which one did it?" Rocky asked. "We weren't there. It coulda been either of them."

"Let's go over what we do know," I said. "There was some sort of confrontation, and it ended with Juliet dead in the rare books room, and both suspects in there with her."

"They both had a great deal of blood on their skin and clothes," Rodrigo pointed out. "And Juliet had not been dead for very long. Does this suggest both of them attacked her together?"

"Shit, who would be the murderer then?" Rocky asked.

"Believe it or not, Monokuma answered this question right after we first got here," I said. "Remember?"

 _"Oh." Jane looked at him coolly, clasping her arms across her stomach. "What if, say, I stab someone, and then someone else stabs that same person, and then the victim bleeds to death. Who's the killer?"_

 _Monokuma glared as well as he could with his teddy-bear eyes. "Whoever's attack drew more blood. Stop asking questions!"_

Jane nodded smartly. "You are all very welcome for my foresight."

"Yes, but let's not jump to conclusions," I added quickly. "Yes, both Katy and Lucina had lots of blood on them, but that isn't necessarily because they were both involved in the murder."

* * *

 _"My game, my rules!" he replied happily. "But, as a gesture of good will, I'll go ahead and tell you her answer to that question was true. Right after the door opened, bam! I knocked 'em down and tied 'em up at gunpoint! I felt like a cowboy. Pu hu hu!"_

* * *

"Monokuma knocked them both down in the blood when he tied them up. So they both would get bloody from that." I frowned... there was something else about what he said there, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it.

Rodrigo clasped his arms in front and frowned. "So that is how the scene ended up," he mused, "but how did it begin? Who initiated the altercation, and where?"

"Well, let's hold up," I said. "Because we know a couple of things that happened earlier... before Lucina and Katy even got there. Juliet had been busy."

"Yes," Jane agreed. ":She'd been living in that silly room for several days. She had bedding, clothes, food, water..."

"Nooses," Katy added.

"Nooses?" Juliet tilted her head in confusion.

"Yeah," I said. "You hung six nooses from the ceiling."

"Uh. Why would I do that?"

"You said they were for us to kill ourselves," Katy answered, looking down at the ground.

"Oh." Juliet considered that and then shrugged. "Fair enough, I guess."

"Yo, there's also all that other shit," Rocky said. "The weird shit in the bookshelves."

* * *

 _"I made traps in the bookshelves," she continued, getting more aroused and upset. "I tied tripwires... they won't kill anyone, because I'll want to do that myself. I spread the explosives on some of the floors... also probably not enough to be deadly. I hope._

 _"Oh! And I put the paint on the floor, so I'd be able to track anyone through the maze. She'll be helpless. With all these tools at my disposal, she'll be helpless. I can defend myself." She held up the butcher's knife, a small stream of blood on the blade. "I can..."_

* * *

"Yes," I said. "I saw the string and paint when I came to the library earlier. And I smelled the explosive chemicals."

"Hm." Juliet crossed her arms, frowning. "That's strange. I don't know why I'd do that, either."

"You weren't making a whole lot of sense," I said to her, looking closely for any sign of deception. "You just kept saying 'it's not suicide, it's a murder' on the video where you were talking about it."

"I..." She paused, then nodded. "Yes. All right, that makes things clearer."

Jane raised an eyebrow. "Why's that, darling?"

"That'd be a spoiler." Juliet indicated Monokuma with a tilt of her head. "You'll figure it out."

"Ugh." Jane rolled her eyes and then looked around the circle at everyone. "Moving on, then, it may be most fruitful to get a sense of the timeline. We know that first, Juliet put the traps and the paint in the stacks."

"Three other places were important," I added. "The rare books room, of course. But also the main room, and the hallways in the stacks. We know things happened there because of the paint."

Rodrigo held up an index finger, excited to make a point. "We know the confrontation ended in the rare books room," he said. "So it must have begun somewhere else. Perhaps in the main room?"

"No," I said.

Everyone looked at me, Rodrigo seeming kind of hurt. I shrunk in on myself slightly, and I'm honestly not sure if it was an act or not. "Sorry," I clarified, "but just because they finished in the rare books room, that doesn't mean they couldn't have started there, too. In fact, I think they did."

"Saya..." I looked up in surprise; it was Lucina who had spoken. She hugged herself. "You're acting different."

I blinked; it was very weird to hear her talk. Weird in a good way. A very distractingly good way. "...Different how?"

"More direct. It's..." She paused a moment and then sighed. "Never mind. I trust you."

I was thrown, but luckily Rodrigo picked up the slack. "Classsmates, even the small amount of information I know has overwhelmed me. I feel at times like this we must follow the example of Friend Ashley."

"Uh," Rocky asked, "Ashley?"

"Indeed. I have met very few people since leaving the monastery, but luckily each has served as a different kind of example and model. Friend Ashley, were she here, would apply rigid organization, and I feel we must do the same."

"That's a good idea," Jane said, "though I feel I should point out that I, unlike Ashley, am organized enough to not get myself murdered. Let's take all the things we know happened and try to figure out when they occurred relative to one another."

"That's a good idea," I agreed. It made it more like a chess game... step by step by step. "Let's make the list, first... let's start with the two things we know the time of: Juliet making the video on the computer at 10:20, and her death at 10:50. And..."

I trailed off, because, with a shimmering flair, two sets of words appeared hovering in the mid air inside the circle. They said: _Juliet dies_ and _Juliet makes video_

"What on..." Lucina began, but Monokuma's chiding cut her off.

"Hey, I'm not going to use this expensive stuff without showing off what it can do! I'm just helping you out!"

"Ah." Rodrigo pointed fearfully at the words. "Friends, can I trust you that this magic is from technology and not Lucifer?"

"Could be both," I remarked, but I regretted it after seeing his horrified expression. "I'm kidding! It's technology. And... I hate to admit it, but it does help keep track of things."

"Indeed," Jane said. "So what else was there? There was the bookcase falling over. And the two individuals going into the stacks, and then coming back out."

The words built up:

 _Juliet dies  
Juliet makes video  
Bookcase falls over  
Individual 1 enters stacks  
Individual 2 enters stacks  
Individual 1 leaves stacks  
Individual 2 leaves stacks_

"The smashed window," Rocky added. "And that weird knife sticking out of the door."

 _Juliet dies  
Juliet makes video  
Bookcase falls over  
Individual 1 enters stacks  
Individual 2 enters stacks  
Individual 1 leaves stacks  
Individual 2 leaves stacks  
Rare books window is broken  
Butcher knife is impaled into door _

"Each of Juliet's injuries," I pointed out. "I don't think it's likely they all happened at the same time. There's the arm, the leg, the larynx, and cuts, and the gash on her ankle."

 _Juliet dies  
Juliet makes video  
Bookcase falls over  
Individual 1 enters stacks  
Individual 2 enters stacks  
Individual 1 leaves stacks  
Individual 2 leaves stacks  
Rare books window is broken  
Butcher knife is impaled into door  
Juliet breaks arm  
Juliet breaks leg  
Juliet's larynx is crushed  
Juliet receives multiple cuts  
Juliet gets gash on ankle_

"And," Jane added, "there is the bizarre evidence from the paint on the floor. The two parallel lines, the handprint, and those running footprints."

 _Juliet dies  
Juliet makes video  
Bookcase falls over  
Individual 1 enters stacks  
Individual 2 enters stacks  
Individual 1 leaves stacks  
Individual 2 leaves stacks  
Rare books window is broken  
Butcher knife is impaled into door  
Juliet breaks arm  
Juliet breaks leg  
Juliet's larynx is crushed  
Juliet receives multiple cuts  
Juliet gets gash on ankle  
Something leaves behind parallel lines  
Someone leaves handprint in yellow paint  
Someone leaves footprints in the main room_

"And..."

"Gahh stop, I'm getting confused just looking at this!" Rocky bellowed. Jane rolled her eyes but complied.

"Uh... I agree this is overwhelming, but I will attempt to begin," Rodrigo said hesitantly. "Um. It was apparently the loss of blood that ended Foul Juliet's life. So therefore, the terrible cuts across her body must have been the last of her injuries, occurring just before her life slipped away."

"That makes sense, but it's probably not right," I said. "Not when we consider what almost certainly caused her crushed larynx: hanging in the noose."

* * *

 _ **FACT 5: JULIET'S DEATH (revised).**_ _  
It takes several minutes to die from behind hanged. It probably took Juliet a long time to bleed to death, and many of the cuts would be particularly painful. The cuts were all even and precise and were all over her body._

* * *

"She was probably cut a lot before she was hanging from the noose. Uh. Both Lucina and Katy pretty much said they put her in the noose, but didn't let her hang until she was almost dead."

Rodrigo clenched his fist, then released it, then clenched it again. "So it seems the purpose of the cuts was merely torture." He raised his eyes to Lucina, then glared at Katy. "I... want to trust in the good hearts of my friends, but..."

"I don't have a good heart!" Katy yelled at him. "I'm..." but a wall of fuzziness blocked off all sound coming from her. She gave up and the force field receded; she glared at Monokuma in silence.

"So anyway," Jane said breezily, "the hanging must have happened just before her death, after at least most of the cuts were made. And! Remember the video we watched."

* * *

 _Juliet popped up on the screen, sitting primly at the desk. Despite her calm, official demeanor, her hair was mussed and she was breathing hard. "Thank you for watching this," she said, sounding just slightly agitated. "This was not a suicide. It was murder."_

* * *

"I seriously doubt she had any of her injuries at that point. Here..." She reached out and waved her arms around, discovering, with obvious delight, that she could move the list of events around like icons on a phone. When she was done, it read:

 _Juliet makes video  
Rare books window is broken _

_Bookcase falls over  
Individual 1 enters stacks  
Individual 2 enters stacks  
Individual 1 leaves stacks  
Individual 2 leaves stacks  
Butcher knife is impaled into door  
Juliet breaks arm  
Juliet breaks leg  
Juliet gets gash on ankle  
Something leaves behind parallel lines  
Someone leaves handprint in yellow paint  
Someone leaves footprints in the main room _

_Juliet receives multiple cuts  
Juliet's larynx is crushed  
Juliet dies _

"Ah, hold on a moment," Rodrigo said. "Why did you move the window to the beginning?"

"Oh, right, you didn't see it," Rocky said. "We heard it happen during the video. I mean... that's what it had to be, right?"

* * *

 _ **FACT 31: 'CONFESSION' VIDEO (revised).**_ _  
About a half-hour before she died, Juliet recorded a video of herself where she repeatedly asserted she was not committing suicide. She admitted to setting traps and leaving the paint in the stacks. There was someone injured in the room with her, and she hit them at one point, drawing blood. The video ended with two sounds of glass shattering._

* * *

"Yeah," I agreed. "Let's talk about that first, since it's on tape. How did the window get smashed?"

"Hmm." Jane rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "I think we can be certain Juliet didn't do it herself, because she was being recorded at the time."

"Right!" Rocky yelled enthusiastically. "But! I thought about it, and it's obvious Juliet wasn't alone then, right?"

* * *

 _She looked down to her side. Annoyed, she set the knife down on the desk and whipped her hand down as fast as a cobra. There was the distinctive sound of a palm striking a face, and an offscreen voice shrieked and moaned, gutteral and agonized and impossible to identify._

* * *

"Indeed..." Jane said, looking skeptical about where this was going.

"So it must have been them!" Rocky smacked a fist into his palm in triumph. "They got up and, like, threw a chair out the window or something, smash!"

"Smash!" Juliet agreed, looking delighted.

"Ah..." Rodrigo held up his hand. "Friend Rocky, your energy and heart are helpful to us, but I do not think you're correct in this case."

"Aww," Rocky groaned, but, a bit surprisingly, he didn't look too annoyed. "Why do you say that?"

"Because the broken glass was upstairs," Rodrigo answered.

* * *

 _ **FACT 7: WINDOW.**_ _  
The big, floor-to-ceiling window in the rare books room was smashed. All the glass was on the floor of the rare books room except for some jagged pieces around the edges._

* * *

"If a chair had been thrown outwards, glass would be on the floor of the large room below. But, there was no glass there."

"No, that's not right," Jane argued.

* * *

 _ **FACT 15: GLASS AND FISSURE.**_ _  
There was an ugly piece of glass, covered in blood, in the main room under the window. Next to it, there was a small but deep slit, like something had been planted into the floor. There was a small blood trail leading from here to the stacks._

* * *

"There was..." She paused scrunching her forehead in thought. "On second thought, no, let's get to that later. Let's finish about how the window got broken." She gazed at Rodrigo coolly. "Please continue, darling."

Rodrigo nodded to her. "Yes. Because the glass was upstairs, the only conclusion is that the window was broken from the outside." He threw up his hands in confusion. "But there is where I am stymied. For no one could possibly reach the window from the outside!"

"Oh!" Rocky was at least twice as excited as he had been before. "I... wait!" He put his hands on his hips and stared off at nothing, concentrating.

Eventually, Jane reached out towards him. "Uh. Are you..."

"Gimme a second!" Rocky barked, then was silent again. That lasted about exactly one second before he let out a triumphant whoop. "I got it!" he yelled. "I got it, I got it! The things that broke the window!"

* * *

 _ **FACT 9: SOFTBALLS.**_ _  
There were two softballs lying around the rare books room. I hadn't seen them when I had been in here before._

* * *

"Two softballs, and we heard the glass break twice! If someone threw them hard, they'd break the window! And Katy and Lucina are both totally buff. They could do it!"

* * *

 _ **FACT 30. STRENGTH.  
**_ _Both Katy and Lucina are probably much stronger than Juliet was, but Juliet's nature might plausibly overcome that disadvantage_.

* * *

"I think you're right," I said, finding myself genuinely smiling at him.

"And the person throwing the balls had the advantage of height," Jane added. "For it is terribly obvious who threw them, correct?"

Rodrigo, still frowning, nodded. "Aye. It could only have been Friend Lucina."

Lucina was doing an amazing job of keeping a poker face, but I think I could see a very slight bit of pride every time we unraveled a new step. "Why did it have to be me?" she asked, glancing up at Monokuma, who just stood still.

"Because if you and Katy were the only people involved, then one of you had to be the person upstairs, in Juliet's video. And it's pretty easy to tell who that was."

* * *

 _She looked down to her side. Annoyed, she set the knife down on the desk and whipped her hand down as fast as a cobra. There was the distinctive sound of a palm striking a face, and an offscreen voice shrieked and moaned, gutteral and agonized and impossible to identify._

* * *

"It had to be Katy," I finished. "Because she made a sound."

"And it explains one of her injuries; the bloody nose!" Jane added.

Katy went silent, but she wasn't looking at the gun, she was looking at me, pleadingly. I noticed that she was more beat-up than I'd thought, with a badly bloody nose.

"So... so at the time of the video, a half hour before the death, we know that Juliet and Katy were upstairs in the rare books room, and Luce was downstairs," Rocky said. "But how'd Katy get up there? And why did Juliet record a video?"

"From what I know, there's only one way for Katy to get in," I replied. "And that's if Juliet let her in. She kept the door locked, but... uh. She let me in a couple of times."

"Did I?" Juliet asked, giving me a very strange look.

I tried to ignore her. "I think what must have happened is, Juliet let Katy in, and they had a confrontation, which Juliet won. Lucina must have come later."

"Indeed," Jane agreed. "And Lucina came later. Because she couldn't get in through the door, she broke the window." She paused, thoughtfully. "Wait. No, she had to buy the softballs at the student stores. Which means she went to the library already planning to break the window."

"Or thinking she _might_ have to," I pointed out.

"So... so perhaps nothing else matters," Rodrigo said. "If Friend Lucina was trapped downstairs, then perhaps Friend Katy simply overpowered Foul Juliet in a moment of distraction."

"No way," Jane argued. "It's not easy to break someone's arm and leg, and I didn't see any signs of that happening in the rare books room. Katy's strong, but she's not strong enough to do that with her bare hands! No, Juliet had to leave the rare books room at some point between the video and her death."

"But why would she do that?" Rocky asked. "She's got Katy beat-up and Luce can't get to her! She's safe up there!"

"I'm not sure I understand why Juliet did anything," I said. "But." I stared down the vaguely flickering simulation across from me. "Someone here does."

Juliet gazed at me coolly and then shrugged. "Fine, fine. But first: let's be clear on the motivations of our other key players." She indicated Katy and Lucina with a dismissive head nod. "Why were they there? Why did the short one fight me, and the tall one break my window?"

"We presume, because they wanted to kill you," Jane replied. "We already talked about that."

"Not quite," Juliet said, leering. "They each wanted to keep the other from killing me. And that very well might have meant killing me _first_."

"But would Juliet have known that?" Rocky asked.

"Yeah, she would have," I answered. "She knew about Lucina's DVD. Katy yelled at her about it while Rodrigo and I were in the library."

* * *

 _"You can't get in, no matter how much you bang on the door." A pause. "I'll let you in if you want to use one of my nooses. But that's the only way I'll... to kill yourself, of course, what else would you use a noose for? ...Look..." She actually paused in what sounded like surprise. "That... doesn't make sense. I was seven when I stopped going. Listen, the timing doesn't... My journal... Christ, if you'll just stop throwing a tantrum and listen, I'll explain..."_

* * *

"But what changed?" I asked. "Why didn't Juliet let her in at first, but she did today?"

"How badly have any of you ever wanted to die?" Juliet asked.

No one said anything for a moment; we were all just stunned. Finally, Lucina's voice spoke up. "Pretty badly."

"Mmm." Juliet nodded to her. "Yeah, you get it. None of the rest of these kids do."

"Fuck off," Lucina's musical voice sneered.

Juliet laughed, then looked back around the circle at all of us. "I never let myself die. I tried and tried, but... I was always too smart. Can you imagine what an amazing opportunity I must have seen when I knew there were two people coming after me at the same time?"

"W...wait," Katy said. "You wanted us to kill you?!"

"Well, I couldn't give the plan away to myself," Juliet replied, utterly casual. "I had to let myself truly believe that wasn't what I wanted!"

* * *

 _She ran her hands through her hair in an apparent attempt to calm herself down, and she looked back at the screen. "I could never put myself in a position to die," she asserted. "Never, never, never. I could never handicap myself, do you hear me? That would be suicide, and I can't commit suicide. It was a murder."_

* * *

She laughed. "I've always been... what's a good word? Suggestible. I just change based on the influences I get."

"Yeah, you told me that," I said.

"Interesting." She shrugged. "Anyway, there you go. Of course I set myself up for failure, even while I struggled with every muscle to survive." She leered at Katy and Lucina. "I did struggle, right?"

"You fought like an animal," Katy said, gaze drooped to the ground. Juliet clapped her hands in delight.

"So..." Jane mused. "All those traps, the paint, the chemicals... it was there to be used against you."

"And you didn't even care which one you took down with you," I growled, eyes burning into her. I somehow kept forgetting how furious she could make me.

 _She had tears in her eyes at this point. "If it was suicide, then I would like to die for love. Or for revenge. Either one would be something I deserve. But... but it doesn't matter, because this wasn't a suicide. This..."_

"If Lucina kills you, you die for revenge. If Katy kills you, you die for love. You didn't care."

"Would you care, in my place?" she asked simply.

"Ugh." I decided to even look at her as little as possible. "So, we know what Juliet's motivations were, but that still doesn't explain why she left the rare books room."

"Oh, I think I know this one," Jane said, seeming happy we weren't still talking about human motivation. "It was something that came up a little while ago. If we're correct that the softballs broke the window, then it explains that most of the glass was in the rare books room."

"Uh huh?" Rocky said. "...and?"

"Well. Remember, I said most of the glass. There was one noteworthy piece of glass we found elsewhere."

* * *

 _ **FACT 15: GLASS AND FISSURE.**_

 _There was an, ugly piece of glass, covered in blood, in the main room under the window. Next to it, there was a small but deep slit, like something had been planted into the floor. There was a small blood trail leading from here to the stacks._

* * *

"If it simply fell from above when the softballs hit, there wouldn't have been blood on it. No, that little shard of glass has a more interesting story to tell."

I got it. "Hm. Yeah. If Juliet 'believed' she wanted to survive, she wouldn't choose to leave the rare books room. So..."

"So it wasn't her choice!" Rodrigo finished.

Jane nodded. "Let's consider the picture. We saw Juliet directly after the window broke."

* * *

 _The sound of shattering glass cut her off, and she turned in surprise to her side. Glass shattered again, and Juliet closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She reached over onto the desk and picked up a pink hand-mirror... the same one we'd found down by the fallen bookcase. She looked at herself, preening and fluffing her hair in the mirror. "This is it," she murmured. "You look beautiful."_

 _Still holding on to the mirror, she reached over with her other hand and picked the knife up off the desk. Then she looked back at the computer, apparently turning the recording off. There was a tiny look of relief on her face when she did it._

* * *

"She was holding the hand mirror and the butcher knife. And what would anyone, even a person as bizarre as she, do after a nearby window has just been smashed in?"

"You'd go over and see what was out there," I answered. I glanced up at Lucina, who was softly smiling.

"Wait," Rocky said, scratching his head. "So... so she went up to the broken window. Uh... but what does that mean about her leaving the room?"

"Well, think about it," Jane replied. "She's not alone. She's in there with someone who almost certainly wants to do her harm."

"Oh, shit." Rocky gaped at Katy. "You... you pushed her?!" Katy started to speak, but with a glance to Monokuma she shut her mouth.

"This explains Juliet's first injury," I said thoughtfully. "The gash on her ankle."

There was some glass still in the pane, a good amount hanging from the top like stalactites, and a couple of inches of sharp spears sticking up along the bottom. It wasn't even; there were places where it was lower or higher, but basically there was just the big hole in the middle.

"She fell forwards, and she jammed her leg into the glass at the bottom of the pane. That's why it was bloody, and how it ended up outside."

"That also explains how the two items she was carrying ended up out of the rare books room, too," Rodrigo said.

* * *

 _ **FACT 17: HAND MIRROR.**_ _  
There was a pink hand mirror next to the bookcase._

* * *

 _ **FACT 10: BUTCHER'S KNIFE.**_

 _Juliet's knife was stuck into the exterior of the door to the rare books room. It had a thin, dry bloodstain on the blade and yellow paint on the handle._

* * *

"Ohhhh, and that was that weird mark in the floor!" Rocky exclaimed. "The knife fell with her and thmmp, it got impaled in the floor!"

"And this must be the source of the broken arm and leg, yes?" Jane continued. "An uncontrolled fall from that height wouldn't just leave bumps and bruises. But nonetheless, in her feral mania, she gets up and still tries to escape."

* * *

 _ **FACT 15: GLASS AND FISSURE.**_ _  
There was an, ugly piece of glass, covered in blood, in the main room under the window. Next to it, there was a small but deep slit, like something had been planted into the floor. There was a small blood trail leading from here to the stacks._

* * *

"Her ankle was bleeding; therefore, the blood trail shows where she went next."

"Waiiiiiiit," Rocky jumped in. "She just... gets up and runs off to the bookshelves?"

"Uh... yes," Jane replied impatiently. "It's a blood trail. You can't argue with blood trails."

"Yo, but why didn't Luce try to stop her?" Rocky protested. "Luce was right there. I don't think she'd want to kill Juliet, but she wouldn't just let her get up and run away, would she?"

"There's... another problem," I added, receiving a glare from Jane. "I think you're right that Juliet ran off to the stacks after falling out of the window. But... I don't think she had a broken arm and leg."

Jane raised an eyebrow. "How could you possibly know that?"

"Because the blood trail went right into the paint, which means one of the sets of yellow footprints is hers. And because her ankle was bleeding pretty badly, it's easy to tell which was her."

"The one with the dark color in half of her steps, yes," Jane agreed. "Blood, drying and mixing with yellow, would plausibly make a dark brown. But that doesn't mean her arm and leg weren't broken!"

"True." I was actually really enjoying proving her wrong about something. I decided not to worry too much about it. "But something else about the footprints does that."

* * *

 _ **FACT 21: FOOTPRINTS.**_ _  
Two sets of footprints led down the hallway into the stacks. Both people were barefoot, and the one with a slightly longer stride had smears of a brown color mixed in some of their footprints. Both sets of footprints were even and wide, as if the people were running._

* * *

"Juliet's stride was even; she wasn't even limping. There's no way she had a broken leg."

"Hmmf." Jane looked away. "Very well. But she must have had a broken arm! It'd be terribly unlikely for her to fall out of the window without some sort of injury."

"I agree," Rodrigo said, thoughtfully. "I find it incredible that she could not have been more badly injured, but I suppose it's possible, depending on how she landed."

"Hey, this is great though!" Rocky enthused. "We got a better sense of the timeline. See?" He proudly fiddled with the list:

 _Juliet makes video  
Rare books window is broken  
Juliet gets gash on ankle  
Juliet breaks arm  
_ _Individual 1 (Juliet) enters stacks_

 _Bookcase falls over  
Individual 2 enters stacks  
Individual 1 leaves stacks  
Individual 2 leaves stacks  
Butcher knife is impaled into door  
Juliet breaks leg  
Something leaves behind parallel lines  
Someone leaves handprint in yellow paint  
Someone leaves footprints in the main room_

 _Juliet receives multiple cuts  
Juliet's larynx is crushed  
Juliet dies _

"Hold on, you don't know that's right!" a voice suddenly shouted. I looked up in surprise to see Katy glaring at us; she'd been so silent, I'd almost forgotten she was there. "Lucina might have gone into the stacks first! You don't know it was Juliet."

I glanced up at Monokuma, who seemed unperturbed. I guess because she wasn't trying to add evidence, her contribution was acceptable. "Maybe, but..."

"And!" Katy insisted, "this would explain why Lucina didn't stop Juliet before she ran away!"

"Yes, but..."

"And and and!" Katy was really on a roll now. "You don't know the bookcase hadn't fallen over yet! Maybe the bookcase fell over first, and Juliet walked across it, so she never got yellow paint on her feet! You..."

"Katy!" Lucina exclaimed, sounding close to panic. "Please don't..." She trailed off and took a deep breath to calm herself; it appeared to halfway work. "Please don't make all this harder!"

"Well, but they can't prove any of it!" Katy insisted. "They're building a whole narrative without any evidence!"

"But..."

"No," Jane snapped. "Both of you. Stop. No." She put her hands on her hips and shook her head in disdain. "At least give us the benefit of being able to see with our own eyes. Juliet absolutely did have yellow paint on her, and not just on the soles of her feet."

* * *

 _ **FACT 6: JULIET'S BODY (revised).**_ _  
Juliet was barefoot, and her soles had yellow paint on them. She also had yellow paint on the front of both of her legs._

* * *

"With the paint on her soles and a bleeding foot, she must have been one of the people whose footprints we saw."

Katy stared for a moment, then just kept right going. "Okay, but you don't know she went first! Lucina might have..."

"No," I said, feeling that familiar iciness. Katy trailed off, looking defeated from my saying just one word. "No, Juliet was definitely the person who went first."

"But... but how do you know? She..."

"Because she set the traps," I interrupted. "She knew where the tripwires and the explosives were. And the footprints we followed..."

* * *

 _ **FACT 23: CHEMICALS IN THE STACKS.**_ _  
Some of the paths in the stacks have been coated with all three of Barrett's chemicals and would be very dangerous to run down. The footprints appear to entirely avoid these paths._

* * *

"...completely avoided the dangerous paths. It would be a huge coincidence unless the person who went first is the person who set the traps in the first place. The other person just followed Juliet's footprints."

Katy sputtered for a moment, then gave up.

But, surprisingly, Lucina spoke. "You still haven't figured out why I didn't stop Juliet, and this whole thing doesn't make sense without it."

Juliet raised an eyebrow. "I thought you didn't want to make things harder."

"Well, maybe I changed my mind!" Lucina barked at her loudly. She quickly blushed at her outburst and hunched her shoulders a little more, but she kept going. "If... if I was downstairs, and Juliet fell out the window, why didn't I catch her then?"

We looked around one at one another, and clearly no one had an answer. I was not faking it: I really didn't know. It kind of didn't make sense, unless something was missing.

"Let's address the issue later," Rodrigo said quickly. "For now, consider Friend Katy. If we assume she did push Foul Juliet, what did she do afterwards? Did she simply stay in the rare books room? That is most likely, yes? It's where she ended up later, and she was injured."

"That does make sense, but I don't think it's right," I replied. "We found a piece of evidence in the rare books room that suggests Katy left it at some point."

* * *

 _ **FACT 12: BOOTS.**_ _  
Katy's boots were in the rare books room, near the door. One of them had a broken-off heel, which was found across the room, near the desk._

* * *

"If her heel was broken in the fight with Juliet, then she'd have a hard time moving around. If she wanted to run, she'd take her boots off."

"Ohhhhh." Rocky smacked his forehead. "I was wondering why she'd take her shoes off in a room full of broken glass!"

"So does this mean Katy had to be the other person in the stacks?" Rodrigo asked. "If both sets of footprints were made by bare feet?"

"Um, no," I answered. "Because Lucina took her shoes off, too."

* * *

 _ **FACT 20: LUCINA'S SHOES.**_ _  
Shoes and socks like the ones Lucina wears were near the fallen bookcase._

* * *

"Why would I do that?" she asked me. She was trying to look smooth, but she was clearly still a little frantic, and it was adorable.

"I don't know," I admitted.

"Ugh, forget about weirdo Lucina," Jane grunted. "We're doing good; we've explained a lot of the evidence."

"Yo, I think I'm on to something," Rocky spoke up. "Like... okay. Juliet runs into the stacks, and if creepy weirdo virtual Juliet is right, she was really trying to get away."

"I _thought_ I was really trying to get away," Juliet clarified.

"Ugh, whatever! The point is, if someone went in after her, even if she was really trying, she couldn't have gotten away, right? She was leaving a trail! So whoever went in must have caught her and dragged her out."

"Those footprints didn't look like one was dragging the other out," I replied. "They were both running both ways."

"Yes, this is my least favorite part of the whole thing," Jane said. "There was some sort of stratagem played out, but thinking about it makes even my brilliant head hurt. First, Juliet's footprints appeared to stop and start out of nowhere, and the others lead directly to a tripwire."

* * *

 _ **FACT 22: FOOTPRINTS SUDDEN START:**_ _  
"Brownfoot's" exiting footprints suddenly appear out of nowhere, for no clear reason. Other than the fact that one of the nearby bookcases is empty, there is nothing unusual about the place where it happens._

* * *

 _ **FACT 24: FOOTPRINTS' SUDDEN END.**_

 _"Brownfoot's" footprints stop suddenly after rounding a corner. The other footprints carry on a couple of more steps, before the person apparently tripped over a tripwire. Then they seem to have started running back the other way._

* * *

"I'm really starting to fucking hate footprints," Rocky grunted.

"Join the club, darling."

But before Jane and Rocky could commiserate more, a soft laughter captured all our attention. It grew louder and more unhinged, and it took me a second of staring before I realized it was coming from Katy.

"Katy!" Lucina exclaimed. "What's wrong?"

Katy chortled. "It's just so stupid. It's all just... footprints in paint. I can't believe it!"

"Oh wonderful, does she have a split personality, too?" Jane grunted.

"No no no!" Katy desperately tried to control her laughter. "It's just... have you noticed? The footprints in paint? Does that seem familiar?"

"Um." It did seem familiar, but it took me a second to force myself to remember events like that. "Yeah. Therion planted some. Remember? To try to frame Ashley."

"And cutting a victim with a knife, over and over?" Katy literally wiped a tear of laughter (this simulation was _amazing_ ).

"...Yo, that's what Juliet did to Emily," Rocky murmured.

"Yup!" Katy shook her head in wonder. "This... this stupid, stupid thing has elements of all the other murders and trials. Barrett's chemicals. The traps. It's all just..." She looked over at Juliet, seeming kind of crazed. "It's all just a prank you played on us, isn't it? All pat and perfect."

Juliet blinked at her. "I don't know."

"Yeah, but you're enjoying it," Katy argued. "That's really obvious."

"I don't really have sentience."

"Ignore her," Lucina's voice was harsh and curt. "She's dead. Ignore her. It doesn't matter what she did in the past. This is just a stupid... ghost."

"I'm a ghost that figured out how I got away from my pursuer in the bookcases!" Juliet said cheerfully. "Do you still want to ignore me?"

"Holy shit, it is really eerie how true-to-life this Juliet is," Jane marveled.

"It's okay!" Juliet assured us. "Just get going; you probably won't need me."

"Um... all right," I said hesitantly. "So... any theories?"

"Um, perhaps we have the owners of the footprints backwards?" Rodrigo offered. "Maybe Juliet tripped over the tripwire. That might explain her broken leg."

"No, the stride on the way out is just as even as the stride on the way in," I said. "Juliet definitely didn't break her leg until she was out of the stacks."

"Hm." Jane stroked her chin in thought. "Well, leaving aside _how_ it was accomplished, I think it's fairly clear _why_ she did it. Yes?"

"Um, why?" Rocky asked.

"Because it allows her to take advantage of one of her tripwires, of course!" Jane answered, looking proud. "Her pursuer was following her footprints. They round a corner, and before they even recognize that Juliet's footprints have disappeared, they've already plowed into the trap."

I nodded. "And that would give Juliet a chance to escape."

* * *

 _"Indeed," Jane agreed, kneeling down by the string. "It's just a string, no mechanism or anything. Nonetheless, if you were running full-speed, you'd take quite a spill. You'd probably be stunned for at least a few minutes."_

* * *

"Which means," Jane continued, "we know more about the order of events."

 _Juliet makes video  
Rare books window is broken  
Juliet gets gash on ankle  
Juliet breaks arm  
_ _Individual 1 (Juliet) enters stacks  
_ _Individual 2 enters stacks  
Individual 1 (Juliet) leaves stacks  
Individual 2 leaves stacks _

_Bookcase falls over  
Butcher knife is impaled into door  
Juliet breaks leg  
Something leaves behind parallel lines  
Someone leaves handprint in yellow paint  
Someone leaves footprints in the main room_

 _Juliet receives multiple cuts  
Juliet's larynx is crushed  
Juliet dies _

"No!" Katy yelled again, predictably. "If you don't know how Juliet supposedly got away, then none of this makes any sense."

"She's right," Lucina agreed, still trying to act calm. "She's not magic. She can't disappear."

I looked at both of them in confusion. Why were they doing this? One of them apparently wanted to be caught, so was she trying to lead us to the right answer? Or were they both somehow guilty? Or both innocent? I couldn't understand why they were acting like this.

"Want a hint?" Juliet asked.

"No, they do not want a fucking hint," Lucina answered sourly.

"I dunno... they all look pretty lost."

"They..."

"Lucina, please." She looked a little shocked that I interrupted her, and I found myself agreeing with her facial expression. "She's not the untrustworthy one, here."

Lucina looked down, either angry or embarrassed; I tried not to think about which.

"Okay," Juliet said, grinning. "Saya, you're into old movies, right? You've watched a bunch with your mom?"

Something about that question caught me off guard, but I tried not to show anything. "Yeah."

"Well, ever seen The Shining?" She nodded smartly. "I have. There's your hint."

"Ugg, you're talking about movies?" Jane asked, rolling her eyes. "Why not talk about something useful?"

"I like it when the blood comes out of the elevator," Juliet explained.

"Wait, this... might mean something," I said quickly, trying to avoid getting sidetracked. "Because in The Shining, a guy chases a kid through a maze, and there's snow on the ground, so the kid leaves footprints. Just like what happened today."

"Holy shit, that's intense!" Rocky exclaimed. "How's the kid get away?"

I took a deep breath. This fit. "He heads down a path, and then _walks backwards in his own footsteps_. That way, he seems to disappear into thin air."

"But where did she go?!" Jane barked. "Okay, she can make it look like her footprints just stop, but she'd still be standing right there!"

"She hid," I answered. This was really making sense. "She sat down, keeping the soles of her feet off the floor, and scooted to her hiding place."

* * *

 _ **FACT 22: FOOTPRINTS SUDDEN START:**_ _  
"Brownfoot's" exiting footprints suddenly appear out of nowhere, for no clear reason. Other than the fact that one of the nearby bookcases is empty, there is nothing unusual about the place where it happens._

* * *

"The bottom shelf of the empty bookcase. She just lay there, and her pursuer ran right past her. Then she just scoots back out and start running back towards the entrance."

"I'm super-smart," Juliet remarked. Lucina looked at her with utter hatred, and Juliet held up both of her hands, palms forward. "Hey, one of you is clearly smarter! You got me. I'm just kinda proud it made it so hard."

"Silence, foul demon!" Rodrigo barked. "Just because we must abide your presence, that does not mean we will subject ourselves to your manipulations!" Juliet rolled her eyes but pantomimed zipping her lips shut.

"I think we've done a good job figuring this out, even with her here," I said. "We know that Juliet and Katy were in the rare books room when Lucina broke the window. Then Juliet ended up outside... we think because Katy pushed her out the window. Juliet runs into the stacks... but here we lose track of Lucina and Katy. Katy probably went downstairs, but that's all we know."

Jane nodded. "And one of them ran off in pursuit of Juliet and was stunned. The other... we don't know."

Rodrigo scanned the list. "We still haven't accounted for several events, some quite major. But... I believe I can guess some of what happened."

Jane raised a skeptical eyebrow. "You can?"

"Aye. For Juliet still has one major unexplained injury, correct? Her broken leg. And I can think of only one event, suggested by the evidence, violent enough to cause such an injury."

* * *

 _ **FACT 16: BOOKCASE AND YELLOW PAINT.**_ _  
There was a large paint puddle right at the entrance to the stacks. It was partly covered by the collapsed, wooden bookcase. The two yellow lines go out one side into the main room, with a single handprint smearing one of them next to the puddle._

* * *

"Whoa, holy shit," Rocky exclaimed. "You're saying... she tripped over the bookcase?"

"Oh christ, no, you imbecile!" Jane snapped. "The bookcase fell on her!"

"Whaaa..." Rocky squinted in thought. "Huh. A hell of a coincidence, right? The bookcase just happens to fall on her?"

"It didn't just happen to fall on her!" Jane argued. "It fell because of Barrett's explosives! Someone did it on purpose!"

* * *

 _ **FACT 18: BOOKSHELF.**_ _  
A lot of the books and part of the bookcase were burned and charred. It looked like two of the shelves near the bottom of the bookcase had been obliterated._

* * *

"Ohhhh!" Rocky grinned nodding. "Gotcha. blow out the bottom, the weight on the top pulls it right over."

"We saw evidence of some sort of trap," I confirmed.

* * *

 _ **FACT 19: STRING.**_

 _A string lay in front of the fallen bookcase, going around the corner and ending in a full spool. the other end was just a black nub._

* * *

"And, of course, the chemicals themselves."

* * *

 _ **FACT 17: GLASS CONTAINERS.**_

 _There were four containers near the entrance to the stacks, containing sugar, spice, everything nice, and paint thinner. Sugar, spice, and everything nice are inert on their own but violently explosive when all three are combined. All four liquids are visually identical, but they have very distinctive smells._

* * *

"Wait..." Juliet said, looking genuinely confused. "But... really?"

Rodrigo glared. "Hold your tongue, demon! ...but what do you mean, 'really?'"

Juliet waved her hands around as if that would help her explain. "It's just... that's how they got me? I just ran into one of my own tripwire traps? That's... disappointing."

"Oh!" Rocky pointed, excited again. "No! No, you didn't! Because remember, Saya? The traps Juliet set were different!"

* * *

 _I nodded. "Yeah, we saw one. And we smelled the chemicals, too. I don't think she was lying about those. But..." Rocky looked up at me curiously and I sighed. "Whatever happened at the entrance to the stacks, by that paint puddle... that one was different. That one involved string_ _and_ _the chemicals, and Juliet's traps_ _in_ _the stacks just used one or the other."_

* * *

"Indeed," Jane agreed. "And if it was a trap you set, why did you trip it on the way out, but not on the way in?"

I nodded. "And why didn't the pursuer trip it on the way in? No." I glanced at the two suspects, still trying to keep my iciness. "No, I think the whole thing had to be set up _while Juliet was in the stacks_. That's the only way it'd catch her coming out."

"But aren't you making a lot of assumptions?" Katy argued. "If the bookcase fell right on top of Juliet, wouldn't there be evidence for it besides just a broken leg?"

"There is," I answered. "On the body itself."

* * *

 _"Wait, is that..." I forced myself to touch the corpse, running my finger over her skin. "What are those things?" Poking at one of the odd objects protruding from Juliet's skin, I realized they were wooden splinters._

* * *

"I only saw one thing that could have been responsible for wooden splinters: the destroyed shelves of the fallen bookcase. Juliet had to be right there when it exploded."

"Oh shit, that explains everything else!" Rocky yelped. "The lines and everything! Right?"

* * *

 _ **FACT 14: YELLOW PAINT IN MAIN ROOM.**_ _  
Two parallel yellow lines are on the floor in the main room, between the fallen bookcase and the stairs to the rare books room. They get fainter the closer they are to the stairs. One of the lines has dark brown mixed in with it. There are smeared footprints in a couple of places, like someone running in the same direction as the lines._

* * *

"If she falls down, and the bookcase falls down on top of her, part of her would be lying in the yellow paint, right? So then someone picks her up and drags her upstairs, her legs would leave those as a trail, right? Oh! And that's why one of the lines had blood in it, because her leg was still bleeding!"

"Yeah," I said. "And this is confirmed with other evidence."

* * *

 _ **FACT 6: JULIET'S BODY (revised).**_ _  
Juliet was barefoot, and her soles had yellow paint on them. She also had yellow paint on the front of both of her legs._

* * *

I sighed. "She fell forward, got the front of her legs in the paint. A tripwire is looking more and more likely."

"Mm, no no," Jane said, shaking her head. "I can understand how a tripwire might be used to trigger Barrett's explosives in this setting. You tie a string to a book, and then paint the cover with two of the chemicals. Then, you slide the book into place on the bookshelf. Then you pull out the book next to it, halfway sticking out of the shelf, and carefully paint the final chemical on _its_ cover. When the target hits the wire, the book is pulled out, it touches the chemicals on the book next to it, and the trap is triggered. But!"

She went silent and everyone just kind of stared at her.

"Um... but what?" Rocky finally asked.

"But that ignores one crucial fact!" Jane concluded, as if there had been no pause at all. "This was not a tripwire!"

"How could you know?" Katy asked.

"Because the other end wasn't tied to anything, darling! If there's no tension in the thread, there's nothing to trip on! Which leaves one very interesting question!" She paused, but I could tell it was just flair this time. "What triggered the explosion?"

"Um... maybe just like... the mirror?" Rocky offered.

Jane gave him an unimpressed look. "Why would a mirror..."

"I don't know, I'm just throwing out ideas!"

"Actually..." I said. "I... think Rocky might kind of be right."

"Oh, don't be asinine!" Jane snapped.

"No, think about it!" I argued. "The mirror was found directly next to the space where Juliet would be emerging from the stacks, right around the corner. Someone must have deliberately brought it there, or else it should just be across the room where Juliet fell."

Rodrigo frowned. "But why would a mirror... ah." He sighed and nodded at me. "Yes. Yes, Saya."

Jane glowered, but he continued. "Friend Jane, you were correct that a loose thread would not serve as a tripwire, and so I cannot see how Foul Juliet could have set off any sort of trap herself. Which means, for the bookcase to explode right next to her, someone else must have triggered it."

Rodrigo nodded. "They simply held the string, and when she came by, they pulled it."

Jane started to argue, but then she nodded. "And because they had to know when to trigger the trap, but they also couldn't risk being seen, they stood around the corner, watching the hallway through the mirror." She grinned at Lucina and Katy. "I hope whoever is responsible isn't executed, because I genuinely respect your ingenuity." They both glared back.

"And then they dragged her off to the rare books room for torture," Rodrigo finished.

Lucina took a deep breath. "But how did we lift the bookcase? We..."

"It wasn't very heavy," Jane interrupted. Lucina fell silent.

* * *

 _We squatted and got our fingers under the bookshelf, and we managed to tilt it upwards some. I noted again that it wasn't very heavy, and I leaned down to get a better look._

* * *

"So this is what we have," Rocky said, and I looked to him in surprise. He had rearranged the list of events.

 _Juliet makes video  
Rare books window is broken  
Juliet gets gash on ankle  
Juliet breaks arm  
_ _Individual 1 (Juliet) enters stacks  
_ _Individual 2 enters stacks  
Individual 1 (Juliet) leaves stacks  
Bookcase falls over  
Juliet breaks leg  
Something (Juliet's legs) leaves behind parallel lines_

Butcher knife is impaled into door  
Individual 2 leaves stacks  
 _Someone leaves handprint in yellow paint  
Someone leaves footprints in the main room_

 _Juliet receives multiple cuts  
Juliet's larynx is crushed  
Juliet dies _

"Huh," Jane mused. "Do we know that? Are we certain this 'Individual 2' left after Juliet was already dragged away?"

"No," Katy stated. "You don't."

"Yes," I stated. "We do."

She looked at me. She was beginning to look hopeless. I felt nothing.

"The yellow footprints in the main room were on _top of the lines_ leading to the rare books room,"

* * *

 _"No, we weren't coming from that direction, she answered. "Hm, but it does look like someone running, doesn't it? Not very carefully, if they stepped right in that hideous color." Jane was right; it looked like the footstep of someone running headlong who didn't care they were stepping in something slippery. "And it angles out only slightly, so it looks like they were running in the same direction as the lines."_

* * *

"As if someone was desperately running out of the stacks towards the rare books room. Following the lines right up the stairs."

I shook my head. "No, I'm sure of it. The one who killed Juliet is the one who blew up the bookcase. The other one came out of the stacks too late. By the time she got there, she was locked out of the rare books room."

And just like that, I knew. I knew who did it. _The one who blew up the bookcase is the one who killed Juliet._ And that could only have been...

"Yes, but which is which?" i know which is which. "And what about the other clues?" they don't matter at all

"And how did the knife get stuck on the outside of the door after whoever used it to kill Juliet?" no that isn't how it happened, that

"And why didn't Lucina stop Juliet, if she was outside when Juliet fell out of the window?" look _it doesn't matter_ none of that matters

"Friend Saya?" rodrigo? why are you talking what is happening. "Are you..."

His voice very suddenly went silent. I looked up in surprise; all on my classmates were walled off by force fields except Katy and Lucina themselves.

"Oh god Saya," Katy groaned, already in tears. "No. You couldn't have. You couldn't possibly have..."

"The one who blew up the bookcase is the one who killed Juliet," I heard myself say. It was all I could muster.

"No!" Katy shouted. "It's impossible!"

And the key clue, the silver bullet proving who set the trap... it seemed so insignificant at the time, Jane even laughed at it.

* * *

 _"Um." Katy wouldn't meet my eyes, and her voice was ragged. "I cut her. A lot. For a log time, over ad over, with her own knife. I put her up in the doose, so it'd be eveeh worse than what she did to Emily. I watted her to be straggled and cut at the same time."_

* * *

To blow up the bookcase so it fell on Juliet, you had to be able to identify all of Barrett's chemicals. You even had to be able to tell them apart from a decoy: the paint thinner.

* * *

 _ **FACT 17: GLASS CONTAINERS.**_ _  
There were four containers near the entrance to the stacks, containing sugar, spice, everything nice, and paint thinner. Sugar, spice, and everything nice are inert on their own but violently explosive when all three are combined. All four liquids are visually identical, but they have very distinctive smells._

* * *

And Katy couldn't...

Katy just collapsed to her knees. "You think she did it but you're wrong!" she yelled. "I did it! Vote for me!"

Lucina looked more beautiful than I'd ever seen her. She looked peaceful. Hopeful. "I knew you'd figure it out," she said, her voice like Mozart.

Missy Elliot appeared in between us. "Hi!" she said.

Even in probably the most dramatic moment of my life, this threw me. It was... yes. It was Missy Elliott. I'd seen her in a couple of music videos on youtube, and that was clearly her. Missy Elliott. The famous rapper. "Um..."

"Hm?" She glanced at herself. "Aw, shit. I was hoping to change this. Sorry about the avatar. It's me! the mastermind!"

Lucina instinctively took a step back, but I was too surprised to move at all. "What..."

"Look, ignore the Missy Elliott thing!" Missy Elliott barked. "I'm here to give a message! An important message, Saya."

She leaned in close to me, but still spoke loudly enough for Katy and Lucina to hear. "I'm going to tell you a little secret, okay? I don't particularly care which one of those two idiots actually did the murder."

It took me a few seconds to find my voice. "Wait, what are you saying?"

"I don't care who actually did it! And if they both want to get executed so bad, who am I to stand in the way?" She grinned. "So I'm giving you a special deal. Whichever one of the suspects you get people to vote for, I'll execute her. The other one goes free. I couldn't care less if it's the guilty one or not."

Missy Elliot disappeared. A moment later, all the force fields disappeared.

Lucina, Katy and I just stared at one another in complete, dreadful shock.


	43. Mimesis in Theory and Practice, Part G

"Gah!" Jane yelled. "What the hell was that?!"

"Dude, why'd you shut me in a force-field box?" Rocky yelled to Monokuma. Monokuma did not reply; he just stood still, trembling.

"Yes, I was shut off alone as well," Jane said. "Who was communicating?"

I struggled to come up with some sort of response, but Lucina spoke up quickly: "It was the mastermind. They were talking to me and Katy."

"The mastermind?!" Rodrigo barked. "What did this fiend say?!"

"Uh... they just told us... they knew which of us did it," Lucina answered. "And that the killer is going to get executed." I could see Katy almost yell out something, but she caught herself.

"Why would the mastermind do such a thing?" Rocky asked, confused.

"Just... to mock us?" Lucina offered. "Break our spirit, I guess? They..."

"Shut up!" Monokuma suddenly screamed in absolute rage. "Shut up shut up!" He flung all his tubby limbs around in a comical tantrum. "We are not going to talk about what the mastermind might or might not have said!"

Suddenly, he grew to an enormous size, looming over the treetops. "Any chaos introduced to perfect order is intolerable!" his voice boomed. "It is a perversion! It is a sick, feminine parody of justice! It..."

He froze, then popped back down to his regular size. He stomped around, grumbling. "Ooo, I am... oooo!"

"Yo, what the hell?!" Rocky asked, panting a bit.

"No!" The bear stomped and pointed a claw. "No! I am... I cannot abide disorder, but... but the wisdom of the natural competence hierarchy does not lie! There must be truth in the mastermind's actions... not that the mastermind did anything!... even if I can't see it."

"But..." Jane began, but Monokuma screeched.

"No! Stop! No! Leave it alone. Solve the murder, solve the murder!"

"Wait..."

"It's okay, really," Lucina said, soothingly. "We don't need to worry about it. They didn't say anything important. Right, Katy?"

Katy stared at her a moment, then nodded blankly. "Yeah. Nothing important."

I just stood watching this, silent. Lucina did it. Lucina killed Juliet.

Lucina's the only one who could have made the bookcase fall on top of Juliet. Juliet clearly got dragged directly from the bookcase to the rare books room, where she was killed. Katy had to come out of the stacks after Juliet had already been dragged away, because that's the only place those smeared footprints in the lines could have come from.

"Well then," Jane grunted, "where even were we? I think we had determined that the one who blew up the bookcase had to be the one who killed Juliet."

"No," I argued, almost automatically.

Rodrigo looked at me quizzically. "Friend Saya? You're the one who said it before."

"Yes... yes, but there has to be an extra twist or something," I stated. "It can't possibly be that simple."

"Simple?!" Rocky exclaimed.

"There's too many pieces we can't explain! Like... like the knife. Right? And why Lucina just let Juliet get up and run off into the stacks. And why Lucina took her shoes off! And..."

"Gah, fine!" Jane snapped. "It's a big mystery; we get it!"

"S...some of that isn't important, though!" Katy argued. At a glare from Monokuma, she clarified: "I mean... just because something is a clue, that doesn't mean you have to figure it out to solve the crime."

"Yes," I replied, unsure what her game was. "But we want as few loose ends as possible."

"That's a bad mindset," Lucina said. Her voice was smooth, and at first glance she seemed totally confident, but somehow it was completely apparent to me that she was terrified. "Because you don't want to fill in the blanks on a narrative that's wrong from the beginning."

"What's wrong about it?" Rodrigo asked.

Lucina opened her mouth, but Monokuma cut her off. "Oh, come now, Mr. Diaz! You know perfectly well she can't answer that!"

Lucina nodded. "Fine, but you've known about this big hole from the beginning, and you never addressed it. If you're right, and Katy pushed Juliet out the window, and if you're right that I was right there in the room below the window, how did Juliet just get up and run away? Why didn't I just pick up the knife and stab her, if I was so desperate to kill her?"

"Kill me _first_ ," Juliet clarified.

"R...right," Lucina agreed, still seeming very uncertain what to make of Juliet's presence. "I wanted to kill her before Katy could."

"Ugh, stop getting hung up on details," Jane groaned. "All this motive stuff won't help us figure out what happened!"

But I had already figured out what Lucina was up to (and... Juliet too?). I made eye contact with her, and the look on her face... I can't describe it, but somehow it flicked me straight into "trial mode." This was all just a chess game, past the point where any moves mattered.

"It is important," I said. "Because... let's consider three points of evidence. First, there's the glass, blood, and knife mark in the floor under the window."

* * *

 _ **FACT 13: GLASS AND BLOOD ON FLOOR.**_ _  
There was a spot on the floor near the desk where the blood and glass shards seemed different from the rest._

* * *

"Katy pushing her isn't the only possible way that could happen," Rocky pointed out.

"Yeah." He was mostly on the ball; that was good. "But, also remember what we were talking about before. Juliet had two major injuries, and her arm couldn't possibly have been broken when the bookcase fell on her."

"Uh, why not?" Rocky asked, confused.

"Because it only fell on her legs. If it'd fallen on her arms, more of her body would have fallen in the paint puddle, and there'd be evidence of that on her body. So how did Juliet break her arm? And if she really fell out the window, why wasn't she even more badly hurt than she was?"

"Um... okayyyy?" Jane actually seemed more curious than impatient, which struck me as noteworthy somehow.

"And there's the third piece of evidence," I continued. "Something we haven't explained yet.

* * *

 _ **FACT 27: WITNESSES' CONDITION:**_ _  
Lucina's feet are bandaged, and she is favoring her shoulder. She has a couple of bandages on her arms. Otherwise, she appears unhurt._

* * *

"How'd Lucina hurt her shoulder?"

"How is..." Rodrigo trailed off, thoughtfully. "I... see. This is the reason Friend Lucina's motivations are important."

I nodded. "She didn't just want Juliet to die. She wanted to keep Katy from becoming a murderer."

Rocky held up his hand. "Wait... I don't get it. What happened?"

"Friend Rocky, consider yourself in Friend Lucina's shoes," Rodrigo answered. "If you want to bear the burden of being a murderer alone, what would you do if you saw Friend Katy push Foul Juliet out of the window above you?"

"She'd... oh." Rocky took a deep breath and looked at his friend with heartbreaking sympathy. "Oh, Luce."

"She broke Juliet's fall," I explained. "She couldn't risk Juliet breaking her neck, so she ran and... caught her." I glanced at Lucina; again, I can't describe the expression at all. "That ties it all together. It explains how Lucina hurt her shoulder, why Juliet wasn't more badly hurt from the fall, and why she was able to get away and run off to the stacks."

Jane grimaced at Katy, who shrunk under her glare. "So you really did push her."

"I... I can't answer that," Katy said softly. "But I can say that I hated her. If I had the chance to kill her, I would take it."

"Hm, this makes the next step more interesting, then," Jane noted. "I had thought that the person who pursued Juliet into the stacks was clearly Lucina. But now, I'm not so sure."

"Indeed," Rodrigo agreed. "Friend Katy had to take her shoes off and run from upstairs. But if Friend Lucina broke the cruel devil's fall, she may have been briefly incapacitated."

"So... which one was it?" Rocky asked.

"Hmf, before we get to that, I'm interested in something our little detective said before," Jane said, eyeing me suspiciously (and holy shit kind of lustfully). "She was acting a bit odd about the notion that whoever blew up the bookcase had to be the murderer."

"Uh." I tried not to look at Katy or Lucina, but I failed. I was still ice-cold inside, but their faces stayed with me, like imprints on my retinas. They both just looked desperate. "Well... it's mostly the knife. Right? The knife is a big mystery."

"What's so mysterious about it?" Juliet asked, seeming to want to prod things along more than she actually wanted to know the answer.

"Well, we have to presume it's the murder weapon, right? But... but there's so many weird things about it."

* * *

 _ **FACT 10: BUTCHER'S KNIFE.**_ _  
Juliet's knife was stuck into the exterior of the door to the rare books room. It had a thin, dry bloodstain on the blade and yellow paint on the handle._

* * *

"Like... why was it stabbed into the _outside_ of the door? And how did it get yellow paint on it? "

"Uh also: where did it come from in the first place?" Rocky asked.

"Oh, I brought it," Juliet answered casually. We all stared.

"Yo, I thought you didn't remember any of this shit," Rocky said suspiciously.

"Well, but it's true, right?" She looked around at everyone. "There's no way I wouldn't have my own murder weapon already on the scene... especially, if what you said earlier is correct, a weapon that could be used to hurt me in a way I hurt someone else."

She sighed. "Based on the documents here, this Emily person was truly kind, good, and brilliant. Even though it wasn't me... I'm sorry."

"Don't say a fucking word about her," Lucina growled, glaring at Juliet with absolute hatred. "You... you have to keep trying to use her against us?"

"I'm not..." But Juliet trailed off. "Of course you don't believe me." She pressed her hand against her chest. "But for what it's worth, I died hating what I'd done to her."

"I think we made it perfectly clear you mustn't speak of her any more," Jane snapped. Juliet just nodded.

"Anyway, she was right," I said, trying to get back on track. "Juliet did bring the knife there; she'd had it for days."

"So... so it fell with her out the window, right?" Rocky ventured. "She was holding it and the mirror when she was pushed."

"One of our suspects took it, obviously," Jane sneered. "For all we know, they both took it. Look, I'm not a 'romance' 'author' or anything..." (she literally made air quotes when she said this, which seemed kind of over-the-top but whatever) "...but I'm not willing to put all this importance on guesses about what they _wanted to do_."

Rodrigo blinked in confusion. "Friend Jane, what do you mean?"

"I mean, they killed her together!" Jane snapped. "Because of course they did! Look, we're tracing these events down to the nanosecond, and none of it even matters! They both hated her, and so they both cut her up! The only question is, who cut her up more!"

"Uh, would they even know?" Rocky asked. "Would Monokuma even know? He's got cameras all over, but he didn't, like, measure the blood, did he?"

"Oh, I know who did it, don't you worry!" Monokuma assured us. "That's at least one part of this disaster that hasn't gone wrong."

"That just means one of them has more bloodlust than the other," Jane said, shrugging.

"But why would we lie?" Katy asked, looking... odd. Her voice was hesitant, but her stance was firm and confident. "Why would we both say we did it alone?"

"Who cares?!" Jane snapped. "I'm through with speculation; I'm only concerned with facts from now on." She smacked a fist into her palm. "And there aren't any facts saying they didn't work together!"

"I want to ask Monokuma a question," Katy said, suddenly.

The bear looked down at her. "Eh? Well, as long as it doesn't break the rules, go ahead."

"No; privately." She gazed at him almost dryly.

Monokuma shrugged, and for a good fifteen seconds, I found myself blocked off from everyone with those fuzzy forcefields again. When they came down, Monokuma looked angry again and Katy looked satisfied.

"Gragh!" Monokuma snarled. "Fine. Fine!" He sighed. "You are not supposed to use your poor adviser's words to help you solve the crime, but it's my own fault for misspeaking." He shook his head. "Pedantic little nerds..." he grunted under his breath, then pointed at Katy. "Very well, point out your evidence!"

"All right." She kept glancing at me as she spoke. "It's just something we already talked about. But there's something important in there."

* * *

 _"My game, my rules!" he replied happily. "But, as a gesture of good will, I'll go ahead and tell you her answer to that question was true. Right after the door opened, bam! I knocked 'em down and tied 'em up at gunpoint! I felt like a cowboy. Pu hu hu!"_

* * *

"He says ' _right after the door opened_ ,'" Katy stressed. "I know you noticed that, Saya." She was looking at me kind of harshly now. "Why would he have to wait for the door to open to tie us both up?"

Jane frowned. "Well... perhaps he was locked out of the room. The door had a key in it... and the key was bloodstained, indicating a guilty person unlocked the door after killing Juliet!"

* * *

 _ **FACT 11: DOOR TO RARE BOOKS ROOM (revised).**_ _  
The outside of the door had yellow paint smeared on it. The other side of the door had the key still sticking out of the lock, with blood on both the key and the door handle._

* * *

"They were both inside, and as soon as they opened the door, that silly little bear pounded upon them."

I spoke up: this I could do something about. "No, Jane, I don't think you're right." Ignoring her glare, I looked around at everyone. "Monokuma had a way in to the rare books room. One of his secret tunnels, probably."

* * *

 _Monokuma suddenly jumped out from the main desk in the center of the room. "Hey!" he shouted, storming up to her and pointing at the book she carried. "Where did you get that!?"_

* * *

"So... if they were both in the room, he wouldn't have to wait for the door to open to get them. The only way that makes sense is if one of them was outside. _Locked_ outside, as the evidence with the key indicates."

"Yeah!" Katy affirmed. "Which means, only one of us could have been in there. The other one is _lying_."

Her emphasis caught my attention, but I couldn't quite get what she was up to. Rodrigo kept the conversation going before I could dwell on it. "But... but now I'm even more bewildered. If the killer was waylaid right after unlocking and opening the door, how did the murder weapon end up stabbed into the other side of it?"

"Oh!" Jane exclaimed, snapping her fingers. "Oh, I just put a few things together. Allow me to explain, so that I may make up for the 'Katy and Lucina both killed her' debacle (although I feel compelled to add is is technically cheating to use the bear's words as evidence)."

"Uh, okay," Rocky said. "So... what'd you figure out?"

"That Saya was correct earlier!" Jane said cheerfully. "The killer was indeed the one who blew up the bookcase."

"Yes, that sounds right," Lucina agreed.

"Um," I felt like I was losing control of things. "Are you sure? Because..."

"C'mon, let Jane talk," Katy interrupted. I was so surprised, I indeed shut up. Why was she taking such a different strategy now? Was I wrong about everything?

"Thank you, darling," Jane said smoothly. She paused, milking the moment of attention. "Well, Rodrigo is correct: it does seem impossible for the murder weapon to be stabbed into the outside of the door. Which leads us to one clear conclusion: the knife isn't the murder weapon."

"Whoa, what?!" Rocky yelled. "Wait! Wait hold on. No way! It had blood on it, remember?"

* * *

 _I looked closer; it was almost certainly the same one Juliet had shown me earlier. I could see a thin, dark bloodstain running down the very sharp edge of the blade._

* * *

"It had blood on it _before_ ," Jane replied. "We saw it on the video."

* * *

 _"Oh! And I put the paint on the floor, so I'd be able to track anyone through the maze. She'll be helpless. With all these tools at my disposal, she'll be helpless. I can defend myself." She held up the butcher's knife, a small stream of blood on the blade._

* * *

"And it's clear whose blood it was, yes? Obviously the person whose ass Juliet had just beat: Katy. That was the cut on her neck"

* * *

 _Katy's bare feet were bandaged just like Lucina's, and she also had small bandages on her arms. Notably, though, she had a longer bandage on the side of her neck._

* * *

"The knife was outside the rare books room, and it never went back upstairs until the door was already locked. In fact..." Jane was totally relishing this. "...I'm certain it was taken by the person who pursued Juliet into the stacks. Ask me why."

There was a pause. Juliet, of all people ("people"), bit the bullet. "Why?"

"Because of the yellow handle!" Jane answered. "The person holding the knife got paint on their hands, and there was only one sign of that."

* * *

 _ **FACT 16: BOOKCASE AND YELLOW PAINT.**_ _  
There was a large paint puddle right at the entrance to the stacks. It was partly covered by the collapsed, wooden bookcase. The two yellow lines go out one side into the main room, with a single handprint smearing one of them next to the puddle._

* * *

"Whoever placed their hand down in the paint also handled the knife."

She was right, of course, but... "Why do you think that's not the person who blew up the bookcase?"

She rolled her eyes. "Darling, your chessmaster mindgames, whatever they are meant to accomplish, are getting tiresome. You know perfectly well what I'm talking about: We both experienced this very thing!"

 _We had to crawl back over the bookcase to get out, and the paint puddle extended far enough out to make exiting difficult. We probably could have jumped, but it was too precarious to stand up, so there was just no way to get out without yellowing at least one of our hands or feet. Jane was very vocal about her dislike of this situation._

"That handprint was made by someone leaving the stacks _after the bookcase had already fallen_."

Rodrigo nodded sternly. "I see. And, upon leaving, they ran through the large room towards the stairs, stepping in the yellow tracks as they went."

"Indeed," Jane agreed, smirking. "But what did they find up those stairs? A closed, locked door. One they could only flail at vainly with their knife and with their paint-covered hands."

* * *

 _ **FACT 11: DOOR TO RARE BOOKS ROOM.**_ _  
The outside of the door had yellow paint smeared on it._

* * *

Jane grinned. "And thus I have deduced that the killer must have been the person who blew up the bookcase, and the other person was stunned in the stacks. Thank you for your insights, everyone! I probably could have done it without you, but not so quickly."

"Wait!" Lucina exclaimed, voice quavering. "But... but if the knife was locked outside, then there's no murder weapon!" She kept looking at Katy, and I got even more confused. Why was she poking holes in this now? "There was nothing to cut her with!"

But luckily, Rocky didn't let it go far. "Luce, c'mon. Nothing to cut her with? In the room filled with shards of glass?" He stuck up an index finger in sudden realization. "Oh! I bet that's that thing I saw, right?"

* * *

 _ **FACT 13: GLASS AND BLOOD ON FLOOR.**_ _  
There was a spot on the floor near the desk where the blood and glass shards seemed different from the rest._

* * *

"I bet it was some big piece of glass the killer used! And when they were done, they just threw on the floor and it smashed!"

Rodrigo crossed his arms and glowered. "So. No loopholes or twists. Friend Saya was correct: the killer couldn't possibly be the one who pursued Foul Juliet."

"If all this is true," Katy said, a slight hitch to her voice, "then one of us used the glass to cut Juliet and make her pay for all the awful things she's done. The other one is lying." She glanced up right at me. "Lying to make everyone vote wrong."

Oh. So that's why.

"Huh... I actually hadn't thought of that before," Rocky said. He glared at our two suspects. "Yo, what the fuck? If we vote wrong, we'll all get executed!"

And then Juliet went and said it outright. "One of you killed a monster. The other is trying to get five innocent people murdered." She shook her head in obviously performative disdain. "It's a real shame the rules of these trials work the way they do, huh?"

I was past feeling much, but the tone of her voice, along with the confident look on Katy's face, shook me. I couldn't think of what to say.

"I'd like to speak to Saya alone," Lucina announced.

"Huh? Wait, bu..." Katy's voice cut off as the force fields popped up. Lucina stood alone, among blurry, hazy figures. Just like whenever I closed my eyes and imagined all my classmates.

"You accept it?" Lucina asked me. "You accept the truth of what happened?"

Holy goddamn she was just so incredibly beautiful. "Yeah."

"And you know you can't do it, right?" She was pleading, openly. "You can't kill her. She's innocent."

I looked away. "Juliet made a good point. What she's done is worse than what you did."

"Juliet never makes a good point. Katy's being..." She sighed. "She's not thinking things through right now. She shouldn't die because of that."

"This goes beyond 'not thinking things through,'" I said coldly. "It's premeditated, attempted mass murder, and you know it."

Lucina looked at me helplessly, but suddenly one of the force fields dropped. Katy stormed forward, pointing. "Lucina! Don't tell her anything!"

"What...?" Lucina took a step back. "How did you..."

"Gahhh, she wouldn't stop yelling!" Monokuma wailed, wandering up with his paws on the sides of his head. "You couldn't hear it, but I could! Drove me crazy!"

Lucina was ash-white. "No... Katy, you can't... I have to talk to Saya alone."

"Nope!" Katy yelled. "That's not fair, for you to make some big argument all by yourself. Anything you have to say, you say it in front of me."

"I... but..." Lucina looked around helplessly. "But it'll hurt you."

Katy paused for a moment, then put her hands on her hips. "Well then you'd better not say it," she replied, almost smug.

"Katy..."

"Why are you doing this?" I asked, glaring at Katy. "I just. I just can't wrap my head around what you're thinking."

"What? Saya... she'll die!" Katy rushed forward, yelling directly into my face. "She'll _die_! I can't let that happen! If I have to get executed to save her, then it's worth it!" She looked over at Lucina, desperately. "No matter how tragic it is, I'll _always_ save you."

Lucina started to reply, then paused. She took a deep breath and regarded us both with a soft, sad smile. "I'm sorry. I truly believed we didn't have to end in tragedy. I wanted to believe what Rocky and Saya were telling me; I wanted to move on. But I couldn't."

I tilted my head in confusion. "'Couldn't?' What are you talking about? Killing Juliet was a choice you made." Realizing how harsh that was, I immediately added, "Maybe the right choice, of course."

"Everything's a choice and nothing is," Lucina replied helplessly. "Do... do you remember what JP said before his execution?"

* * *

 _"I'm confused," Earl stated. "If you aren't her Freund, why did you meet her in secret?"_

 _"Because she said she'd fuck me!" JP spat. "That's what the note said! It said go to the music studio and... but when I got there, there was blood everywhere, and she just handed me this knife and costume and told me she would take care of everything! I didn't know Emily would be there! I didn't..."_

 _"Yo, fuck this," Nicole sneered. "You still stabbed her on purpose."_

 _"I couldn't feel anything; I couldn't think," JP moaned. "I just... she was telling me to do it, and she was telling me everything would be okay, and..."_

 _"Everything I've done is for you," Juliet cooed. "I can't do anything for myself..."_

 _"Shut up, shut up!" JP wailed, crouching and covering up his head, like he was in some sort of bombing drill. "Stop it! Stop stop stop!"_

* * *

"He chose. But think about that moment. He was in shock, and all this momentum was already there saying 'do it, it'll be okay.' Was he ever going to say no? Is that even plausible to think about?"

"Gah... look, you're not like JP!" I grunted, feeling myself get... not quite angry, but aggressive. "He was..."

"A murderer?" Lucina finished. I found myself unable to respond.

"Do you know why I did it?" Lucina was almost placid now, like she was mourning some lost, sweet memory.

"I think I do," I said. "You hated Juliet, and you knew she was a monster. So..."

"You're wrong," Lucina said, sweet and musical but still shutting me up completely. "I already hated Juliet, you know that. But when I saw that video and understood what she'd convinced my parents of... I didn't feel angry. I felt _relieved_."

Katy was as baffled as I was. "...what?"

"It wasn't their fault." Lucina pressed her fingers against her throat softly, like it was a butterfly's wing. "Everything they did to me wasn't them. It was just Juliet." She pressed her palm against her throat as if she was choking herself. "They really did a number on me, I guess."

"But... of course you thought that!" Katy argued. "They're your parents, you love them! Of course..."

"I don't love them at all, Katy." Lucina said coldly. "They took _music_ from me. I can't..." She clenched her fist, glaring down at the soft ground. "Even when I conduct, I'm... outside it. I can't feel it in me, anymore. You couldn't understand what torture it is to fake it and have everyone tell me how talented I am."

She sighed. "So no, I don't love them. They ruined me. But still, _still_ I couldn't stand the thought that it was their fault." She looked back up, that soft smile returning to her face. "I'm never going to escape this. I'm just broken."

"Lucina..." Katy reached out a trembling hand. She didn't seem to know what else to say.

"This is what they wanted," Lucina said. "Even if I grew up and changed the world with my music, I'd bear such a deep scar, I'd never be able to forget them."

"But... but I'm the same way!" Katy argued with a sudden burst of energy. "Remember my fairy tale? I was the Lonely Princess, and all I wanted was to freeze time. That's me. I can't grow past when Mackenzie died. I'm stuck too!"

"That's not where you're stuck," Lucina mumbled almost too quietly to hear.

"What?" Katy frowned. "What are you talking about?"

"Katy..." Lucina pressed a hand against her forehead. "I didn't want to tell you..." She hugged herself anxiously. "I read the stuff you got from Juliet. About you."

"I don't care!" Katy snapped. "None of that matters!"

"Please. I have to tell you what it said. I..." Lucina stopped suddenly, because a two-dimensional envelope suddenly appeared in between all three of us. "Okay. I... guess it's in the computer."

"Is it about my dad?" Katy asked, suddenly quiet. Lucina shook her head. "Oh." Katy shrunk in on herself a bit. "...Mackenzie?" Lucina didn't say anything.

Katy grimaced. "There's nothing else to know about her! She... she was innocent and pure and beautiful, and we loved each other, and I couldn't stop her from dying, and every day it feel like it kills me over again! I already know all there is to know."

"Katy, please..."

"We had one kiss." Katy was kind of babbling by now. "One pure, wonderful moment, and then she was gone."

Lucina had stopped trying to reason with her. She just let her finish and then stared. Katy stared back.

"I'm afraid," she said, finally.

"I'm here," Lucina said back. She took Katy's hand in her own. At her girlfriend's silent nod, she did that finger-moving weirdness that let us move the virtual list around and opened up the envelope.

What came out was a series of word balloons, alternating pointing left and right. I realized it was a chain of text messages. They were dated a little over one year ago.

 _-b?_

 _mac! how you feeling?-_

 _-it's a pretty good day today :)  
I have an question_

 _a question ooooo-_

 _-a gay question._

 _nice-_

 _-ok._

 _-so Katy and I are together I think?_

(gif of clowns screaming happily) _-_

(gif of different clowns screaming happily) _-_

 _-yeah. It actually happened._

 _how is it?-_

 _-she is_

 _-just_

 _-the smartest and kindest and hottest and Im kind of amazed all the time it's happening._

 _-but_

 _what?-_

 _-aaa now I'm embarrassed to ask it_

 _No ask it ask it!-_

 _-ok_

 _-just why won't she fuck me?_

 _-she won't even kiss me_

 _-i keep trying to tell her i want to and she keeps not  
i am preety sure she wants to but just won't_

 _Do you think it's because you're sick?-_

 _mac?-_

 _-i think it might be_

 _-she just acts like I'm fragile or something i don't know_

 _-she's really sweet and loving all the time!  
and she's, like. i can tell she's turned on  
I'm really happy!_

 _-I just want her to fuck me soooo baaaddddddd_

 _-and_

 _-doesn't she get that I won't be able to soon?_

 _:( mac -_

 _wait you were writing and then you deleted it-_

 _what were you saying?-_

 _-it's nothing._

 _Nope! tell-_

 _-it's just I want to before I_

 _-cant anymore._

 _-that's all._

The texts blinked out of existence when we reached the end.

Katy's knees buckled, but Lucina held her up with amazing strength.

"Is this real?" Katy asked, almost too quietly for me to hear.

"I don't know," Lucina answered. "But I think it probably is."

"I had no idea," Katy whispered. "I didn't...she never told me."

"Katy." Lucina turned Katy's head so they were looking into each other's eyes. "I know you loved each other, and I know you made her happy. OK? I'm positive of it. But you never really saw her."

"What...?"

"You don't want to go back and live in the moment when you kissed her, because by the time you met her, you were already stuck. The moment you want to go back to is older than that."

"No, but..." Katy argued feebly, but then she fell silent.

"When I came out to my dad," she said finally.

"When you were so afraid, and then everything was okay," Lucina confirmed. "When everything was pure and straightforward and _simple_. You could just be accepted."

Katy nodded. "I'd imagined feeling it," she murmured. "I'd read books, and I'd live among the characters and they'd accept me. If I acted like the heroes, I could pretend. But I'd never really had it before... yeah. Before that day. It's the first time I wasn't scared."

"And that's why we're not the same, Dear Heart," Lucina said kindly. "Saya?" Her voice stopped being kind, but maybe it just sounded that was because I was so startled at being drawn back in to the scene. "You get it too, right? This is why me and Katy aren't the same, why I'm lost and she isn't. We're both stuck in the past, but she's stuck in a moment of love. I'm... not."

She wrapped her arms around Katy, who appeared to be almost catatonic, and she squeezed. "I think all parents kind of hate their kids, because kids grow up and replace you. The old would wipe out the young, if they could. Maybe that's what this whole stupid school is about." She chuckled humorlessly. "I think both of you could break the cycle, if anyone can. And Rocky and Jane and Rodrigo, too. But not me.

"And Saya?" She looked down at me, almost pleading. "I'm ready. I really am."

"You're asking me to kill you," I said, voice hollow.

"I know." Her eyes narrowed. "And you also know that if you don't, I will absolutely never forgive you. Not ever. I will hate you for the rest of my life."

"Yes, but you won't be _dead_!" I didn't shout back. Instead, I just pressed both palms against my forehead.

I just couldn't stop thinking about that stupid story Juliet had talked about, with the lady and the tiger. I'd always tried to avoid actually thinking about what would be behind that door, it felt... uncomfortable. It's not like a chess game; there aren't rules.

But now I'd felt love. I'd somehow absorbed Lucina into me like a chemical. She was in every beat of my heart, which was the stupidest thing to even thing but _it was true_. And love... I knew what love would do. I knew, if love had to choose between selfishness and kindness, it would be kind, every time.

Behind that door on the right was a lady, because that's the only possible thing that could happen. It was a lady.

"Okay," I said. "Okay." I looked up at the sky. "Monokuma, could we talk to everyone else, please?"

All the force fields disappeared, and everyone else jumped in surprise.

"Christ, finally!" Jane yelled. "What were..."

"Lucina did it," I interrupted.

There was a chilling silence. "...Friend Saya? How do you know?"

"The person who chased Juliet into the stacks couldn't be the killer, and that was Katy. We know because of the footprints."

* * *

 _ **FACT 21: FOOTPRINTS.**_ _  
Two sets of footprints led down the hallway into the stacks. Both people were barefoot, and the one with a slightly longer stride had smears of a brown color mixed in some of their footprints. Both sets of footprints were even and wide, as if the people were running._

* * *

"Longer stride, longer legs. Juliet, with the bloody footprints, was taller than whoever was chasing her, and that certainly wasn't Lucina."

"Um, but..."

"And Lucina had to be the one who set the trap that blew up the bookcase. Because to do that, she had to be able to distinguish Barrett's chemicals, and Katy was not in a state where she could do that. Remember?"

* * *

 _I kept gaping, but Katy's voice surprised me. "It's all right, Saya. I dough thick he'll shoot you."_

 _I blinked, realizing how awful it would be to laugh at what her stopped-up nose did to her speech, given the circumstances. But luckily, that brought me out of my shock; I glanced back at Jane and reached up my hand; she rolled her eyes but pulled me up to my feet._

* * *

"Her nose was completely stopped up, and we heard her get that injury long before the trap was set. It had to be Lucina."

"But..." Rodrigo trailed off. "Hm."

"Oh!" Jane said suddenly. "Why did she take her shoes off? That's still..."

"I think she probably stepped in the yellow paint when she was setting the trap." I wasn't even looking at anyone; I was barely even aware of what was happening. "She didn't want to leave footprints, because it might tip off Juliet, or make her easier to pursue if the trap didn't work."

My three classmates glanced at one another, confusion on their faces.

"Look, just let me take you through the whole thing, all right?" I asked, voice cracking. "You'll see how it all ties together."

* * *

Today's events began when Katy went up to the rare books room. She was concerned that the culprit might murder Juliet, and she was angry at Juliet for what happened on the DVD. There was a confrontation, which Juliet won. However, soon afterwards, the culprit arrived and smashed the big window to the rare books room with two softballs they'd brought with them.

Juliet went to the broken window to see what had happened. While she was there, Katy ran up behind her and pushed her. Not wanting Katy to be guilty of murder, the culprit ran forward and caught Juliet as she fell, knocking both to the ground. Juliet broke her arm on impact but did not suffer a worse injury.

Juliet recovered and ran off to the stacks, running through the yellow paint puddle. Katy came downstairs and, seeing the culprit temporarily incapacitated, grabbed the butcher knife which Juliet had been holding and ran off in pursuit. Juliet managed to evade Katy and trick her into running full-speed into a trip wire.

Meanwhile, the culprit recovered and went about setting a trap for Juliet when she emerged from the stacks. They used the string, mirror, and chemicals that were nearby to blow up the bookcase as Juliet was right next to it. The bookcase fell over onto Juliet, breaking her leg. The culprit then dragged Juliet up to the rare books room and locked the door.

Katy recovered and left the stacks, but she was too late: she couldn't get into the rare books room. She stabbed the knife into the door and beat on it with her hands, but to no avail. The culprit hung Juliet in a noose and cut her with the knife until she eventually bled to death.

The culprit then opened the door, but as soon as Katy entered, Monokuma knocked them both down and tied them up at gunpoint. Also, at some point, Juliet's automatic email and recording went off, alerting us that something was happening at the library.

Based on the evidence, there is only one person who could possibly have committed this crime: **Lucina Sorenson, the Ultimate Conductor.**

* * *

Everyone kind of stood around in silence. I guess I shouldn't have been surprised: they didn't expect me to readily condemn the women I loved. But this was all so stupid. I just wanted it over.

"Friend Saya," Rodrigo said, examining me carefully. "Are you certain?"

"Yeah."

He frowned but apparently found no deception on my face. "Ay. I can find no argument."

Rocky looked up sadly. "Luce?" Lucina gave him a soft nod, which I thought Monokuma would chastise her for, but nothing happened.

"I guess that's it then," Rocky said.

"May we vote now?" Lucina asked.

"Yes!" the bear yelled. "Vote for justice and order! Your vote will determine..." I ignored his rantings and went over to my lectern, sticking weirdly out of the ground. It showed a list of my classmates. I voted.

"Well!" Monokuma said thoughtfully. "The killer you've chosen is Lucina Sorenson, which is... absolutely correct!" He wiped a paw across his brow as if getting rid of flop sweat. "Phew! Justice reigns supreme again, after all!"

"Thank you, everyone," Lucina said, voice lilting. She looked at Rocky, Rodrigo, and Jane seriously. "Please, forgive Katy for lying. She came to her senses in the end. I don't think she would have been able to go through with hurting innocent people, even to save me."

Katy glanced up at her but didn't say anything.

"One question," Jane said, staring Lucina down. "What was the recording? Your 'composition?'"

"Oh! Uh." Lucina shrunk in on herself a bit. "You didn't listen to it, did you?"

"No, it was password-blocked. Which made it very enticing."

"Oh, thank goodness, I wasn't sure I did that right," Lucina said, taking a deep breath. "It wasn't for anyone but me. It was just... to help me go through with it."

"Yes, but what _was_ it, darling?"

"I... recorded her death." Lucina kept glancing at cyber-Juliet uncomfortably. "The... cuts and the screams and the choking."

Juliet stared her down. "Why?"

"To remind myself that's the only music I can make, anymore."

Juliet just looked. Finally, she sighed. "I need to tell her something before the execution. Tell everyone something."

"Hey!" Monokuma argued, putting his paws on his hips. "Why're you acting like you get a say in anything, hm?"

"She deserves to know," Juliet answered simply.

"Eh, whatever," Monokuma mumbled, shrugging. "Just hurry!"

Juliet walked forward into the center of the circle, still looking right at her murderer. "Apparently, before I died, I found this, right?" She took out (from nowhere) the child's diary I'd recognized before.

"Yes," I answered. "I saw you with it."

"And... when I got it, I changed, right?" I seriously couldn't tell if she was being sneaky or even if whatever she was could be sneaky, but I still felt very suspicious of all of this.

"Yeah. You started messing with the game. Giving us information before we were supposed to get it."

"I see." She glanced over at Jane. "And I was a monster before that, right? I did horrible things, all in the name of love."

"Get to the fucking point," Jane snapped. I agreed with her.

Juliet nodded. "I didn't know I was evil, y'know. For a long time. I thought I was just a normal little kid. Until my parents found this." She held up the diary. "All the gruesome, abhorrent things I'd been writing. I thought it was all just innocent, but my parents were horrified. They told me I was evil, deep down in my heart, and I needed some desperate intervention to keep me from causing anguish everywhere I went."

She held the book to her chest. "It's the defining moment of my life. And... it's strange. Even though it was so important, I didn't even remember what was in here."

I realized she was squeezing the book so tight, her hands were turning white. (This really was a fantastic simulation!)

Some text appeared in the air next to her. "This is the last entry before they read it," she said, nodding her head towards it.

 _JULIET MOUNTEBANK'S UPDATED LIST OF BOYS I LIKE:_

 _Graham (smart! smells weird)  
Zaw (amazing amazing brown eyes. annoying voice.)  
Ayan (very cool. maybe dumb though?)  
Gus (c u t e. weird long fingernails, but I think I can get over this)  
Austin (pretty but in a funny-looking way. or funny-looking in a pretty way? the difference is IMPORTANT)_

 _Updates:  
Added Zaw (noticed those eyes)  
Removed Barton (I can just tell he'd be a bad kisser)_

There was a confused silence as we read. "And I had thought this was normal, innocent kid stuff," Juliet muttered. "My parents knew better, though." The text disappeared and was replaced with more. "Here's the entry before that one."

 _I told Ms. O that I needed a bra and didn't know how to talk to my parents about it. She was very nice, but she didn't end up with anything really useful. I realized it wasn't that I don't know what to say, but rather that I just hate talking about it._

 _Ugh I just hate it. It's weird turning into something different! Sometimes I wish I was a boy, so this wouldn't be happening. I imagined how I'd look as a boy, and it made sense! I was very handsome. But instead I just have this._

 _I asked Ms. O if I could still become a scientist even though I'm a girl. She said yes and acted like it was a silly question._

 _I guess it's good girls can be scientists, but I kind of wanted her to say no. I still really want to be a scientist, though. It kind of doesn't make sense? I have to think about this more._

 _Also apparently everyone hates fake lime flavor? Fake lime flavor is my favorite! This is great, because whenever there's candy I can trade all my gross grapes for limes._

The text disappeared again. "It goes on like that," Juliet said. "Entry after entry. Liking boys. Thinking about... things."

Rodrigo looked around the group in confusion. "Friends... I don't understand. What in that text revealed Foul Juliet's foul heart?"

"They were just so horrified," Juliet kept going, ignoring him. "And it was just so important to them that I find an antidote to the evil in me. Which means, I had to have evil in me, right?"

"Wait." Rocky waved his hands around. "Wait, what the fuck!? You made yourself _evil_?!"

"I wasn't like I decided it," Juliet explained. "I just... wanted to give them what they wanted. I change to fit what people want; I've always been that way. And they..." She glanced at Lucina. "They could... be cruel, too."

She held up the book. "It's odd what imagination does to your memory. I legitimately remembered murder and cruelty and blood." She shook her head, laughing softly. "Uh. Please forgive a non-living entity talking about 'imagination' and 'memory,' I'm simply trying to explain so you understand."

Lucina stared at her, unreadable. "How old were you?"

"Ten."

Lucina nodded. "And the DVD. The appointment with my father."

"Seven. So. You understand, right? I wasn't... like this, yet. I was just a normal little girl."

Lucina took a deep breath. "So it really was just them making me this way. Them alone." She put a hand against her temple. "And I killed you for nothing."

"No!" Juliet shouted, sounding appalled. "No, I really am a monster. You saved... maybe everyone I was ever going to meet for the rest of my life. But just." She ran a hand through her hair helplessly. "I didn't have to be that way. Just like you didn't have to lose music."

And that, of all of this, is what finally made Lucina start crying. "I wish it had been different," she said. "I wish no one had to..."

She broke down and Katy held her.

"Saya," Juliet said. I looked up at her, shocked, and I was even more shocked when she walked right up to me, putting her hand on my shoulder.

"You made a decision today," she said quietly, staring me in the face.

I couldn't get any words out. "Uh..."

"Oh c'mon, I live in the computer; these force fields don't mean anything to me." She smirked. "You made a decision. A big one."

I just nodded.

"It wasn't a real decision," the said plainly. "It was what was always going to happen. Your history and your beliefs and your feelings. It was inevitable. Everything else is an illusion."

Behind her, I could see Lucina and Katy tearfully signing something to one another. I just wanted to be there with them... but I stopped myself. What was happening there was for them. It wasn't about me.

"Why are you telling me this?" I asked.

"Because if I'm right, you're going to have to make another decision soon," she answered. "And this one will be real. A real choice, free from the past.

"That's what I've been doing, y'know." She had a charming, lopsided smile. "I'm pretty sure. Before I died I was just trying to give you something I couldn't ever have for myself."

She winked. But in that moment, I heard Monokuma yell "Enough stalling! It's execution time!" and I whipped my head over towards Lucina.

But there wasn't time to do anything; there wasn't even time to call out her name. In an instant, she was just gone.

 _ **Lent et Doloureux  
**_ _the execution of_ _ **LUCINA SORENSON**_

 _A huge, impossible TV screen popped up in mid-air. Lucina stood there, back straight, looking strong and gorgeous. She held a baton. There was no sign of fear or distress._

 _Lights flickered on. Dozens of Monokumas stood across from her, each holding a rifle. Slowly, they spread out into a line, all facing her rigidly. Slowly, deliberately, each one raised their rifles, pointing them right at her._

 _Juliet walked up next to Lucina. She took her hand and squeezed it and they shared a moment of eye contact. Lucina nodded. Juliet stepped away._

 _Lucina raised both her hands dramatically; all the horrible bears just staring blankly at her through their sights. Suddenly, she swooped the baton down on the right._

 _A single Monokuma, standing to her right, fired. The bullet caught her in the shoulder and she staggered. But then, blood on her shirt, she stood up straight._

 _She whisked her hands to the sides, and two Monokumas, each on opposite sides, fired. These bullets hit her leg and her cheek._

 _Over and over, she conducted them, and with each direction, they fired. She kept standing... it felt like forever. Bullets kept tearing into her, and her movements got slow and there was so much blood, but she kept going._

 _Until, finally, she raised both her quivering hands up as high as she could. Blood was coming out of her mouth, but she still held the moment. And then she threw both her hands downwards. Guns fired._

 _When the smoke cleared, Lucina lay on the floor, her head in Juliet's lap. Lucina groped around feebly with her hands and struggled to breathe, but Juliet softly stroked her hair. And after she stopped moving, Juliet closed her eyes._

The screen disappeared. But before I could even think, so did the entire world.

 **TRIAL ROOM**

I jerked up out of my virtual reality pod, startled and shaking. I frantically started ripping off the gizmos attached to me, but I stopped when I noticed the... fire.

One of the pods was burning. It was Lucina's. I couldn't look away, all I saw was the flames and the metal and... charred bone.

"Fiend!" Rodrigo yelled at Monokuma. "How can you be so evil as to burn her alive?!"

"Hey, the machines can do cool stuff, but an execution that doesn't kill you doesn't mean much, does it?" Monokuma defended. "Oh, don't worry, she was basically just asleep for the burning part. But something had to happen in the real world, didn't it?"

He laughed and I vaguely, dreamily felt myself bending over and vomiting on the floor. "Actions have consequences, after all! You spoiled brats have to..."

 **MAIN QUAD**

I literally don't remember what happened then. I think I must have passed out, or I was somehow semi-conscious. The next thing I knew, I was sitting on the grass of the main quad, holding on to a trembling Katy. Everyone else stood around us.

"Friend Saya!" Rodrigo exclaimed. "Can you understand me?"

I nodded dumbly.

Jane growled. "The bear told us it was time for the 'final exam,' and we'd have to explore the school to take it. But he's oh-so graciously giving us some time off. We're to meet him back here at one a.m. to begin. That's approximately twelve hours."

"He told us that if we fail the exam, we are to be killed," Rodrigo said.

I couldn't think of anything to say.

"Fuck this," Rocky grunted under his breath. He walked over to the music equipment he'd set up and flipped some switches.

"Yo!" he called over. "Me and Roddy aren't done with this yet, but fuck it! This shit is for everyone we've lost and I am blowing out the fucking speakers with it!"

A song started playing, a bizarre but gorgeous mix of heartbreak and frenetic energy. It started loud, but Rocky kept cranking it up until it was absolutely deafening. The drums shook the buildings around us.

I realized I was wailing. Just howling in pain and loss. Katy was, too. I couldn't hear anything but the beats, no matter how loudly I screamed.

* * *

 _Q: Tell me about your parents, please. ... A note to the transcribers, the subject just handed me a blank piece of paper. She refuses to answer the question. And... oh, a note to the transcribers, I am now reading a message the subject just handed me: quote, that was my answer to your question, unquote._

* * *

Reader survey results:

57% lady  
43% tiger


	44. Cram Session

**NEW HOPE UNIVERSITY SHOOL OF ULTIMATES PROGRAM FINAL EXAM**

 **Our final exam this semester will take place the morning of xxxxxxxx at 7:00 a.m. Students will be allowed to search the administration building to find evidence.**

 **This is an entirely oral exam. Students must verbally provide the correct answer for each question in order to pass.**

 **All grades will be shared amongst the entire class; therefore, students must agree on an answer before it is officially presented as a test response. For this reason, students will be given a chance to freely deliberate and discuss evidence during the exam.**

 **Failing the exam will result in immediate death.**

 **Passing the exam will result in the death of the mastermind, as well as freedom from campus and access to all amenities provided to graduates. Most especially, graduates will receive the invaluable career connections provided by alumni. Remember: We're a family here at the school of ultimates!**

 **The exam consists of FOUR questions. You must answer all four. However, you may answer them in any order.**

 _ **1\. Who is the mastermind?**_

 _ **2\. What is the secret of the mastermind? (you'll know what it is it if you discover it, trust us)**_

 _ **3\. What is the purpose of this program?**_

 _ **4\. There is a dead man in one of the rooms of the administration building. Who killed him?**_

* * *

Jane coolly looked over the seats of the auditorium as she tested the pens she had found. Pausing just slightly, she glanced over at Rodrigo. "Tell me, what was the painter like as a person?"

"Hm?" Rodrigo glanced at her, then back at the seats where they'd found his headless body so long ago. "Ah. I never came to know him well. I feel he was a good man, but with a conflicted heart."

"Huh." Jane was silent for a moment and then shrugged. "I think I probably would have hated him."

"...Perhaps."

"I think I would have liked Therion, though. Maybe." Jane placed the caps back on the pens. "Unless he was insane. Do you think he was insane?"

"Hm," Rodrigo mused. "I know nothing of insanity, so I cannot answer. But his... modes of reasoning were not ones I could understand."

"I think he was just one of those risible people who prioritize their final moments over each one that came before," Jane said. "I've met people like that. People who think that if they can orchestrate their own death to be perfect, somehow, then they don't really die." She raised an eyebrow at the paladin. "He sacrifices himself for some game and that means he 'lives on,' although of course he doesn't."

"I'm not certain I agree, Friend Jane. As mere humans, we all have flawed hearts. Therion simply lost his ability to control his malice and avarice for long enough to choose to perform such a terrible act. Of course, he bears blame, but my anger is reserved for the keepers of this terrible school."

Jane just grunted. She rested her chin in her hand, looking bored. "Flawed hearts, hm?"

"Indeed," Rodrigo answered, nodding seriously. "It is one of the reasons I respect Friend Rocky so much. He has anger deep inside him, but he is determined to keep it from leading him into wickedness."

Jane inhaled and then exhaled, unimpressed. "So... he'd be _less_ worthy of respect if he _didn't_ have a trait that made it more likely for him to do bad things?"

Rodrigo paused. "I..."

"Like, I'm working super hard to be nice to all you idiots," Jane interrupted, "and I'm still a complete bitch. But Emily was just kind, deep down. I'm better than her, just because she didn't have to use self-control to be a good person?"

"Uh. N...no..."

"Hey, you know the story about Lazarus and the rich man, right?"

Rodrigo actually was so startled by the question, he pulled away from Jane a bit. "Aye. Do you know the scriptures?!"

"Of course I do, I wouldn't remain ignorant about something so important," Jane snapped. "It doesn't mean I believe in any of the silly supernatural stuff, of course. But the gist of the story is, Lazarus is a beggar, and his super rich neighbor never helps him, and then they both die and Lazarus goes to heaven while the rich man goes to hell. Right?"

"Ah..."

"And the whole deal is that the rich man went to hell because he never helped out Lazarus, and the same thing is going to happen to all his brothers, and no one can do anything to stop it, right?"

"Well, there are many scholarly perspectives on..."

"Okay, here's what pisses me off about it," Jane continued, almost certainly not listening to Rodrigo at all. "As far as we know, Lazarus never does shit, right? He just sits around getting his sores licked by dogs. But he goes to heaven. But why does he deserve that? He never helped out his neighbor. That's what got the rich man damned."

Rodrigo crossed his arms and frowned. "But Lazarus had nothing to give. He couldn't help."

"Exactly!" Jane agreed, smirking a bit. "But! If the rich man had given Lazarus some food, then Lazarus would be on the hook to give some of that food to his homeless buddy, right? He'd now have the ability to help his neighbor, which means he goes to hell if he chooses not to!" She smacked a fist into her palm smartly. "So, the rich man did Lazarus a favor! Lazarus never had the option to be greedy, so he never had a chance of going to hell! Keeping someone from being at risk of damnation sounds like a good deed, to me."

"But Friend Jane, the message was to the jeering Pharisees, and they were in danger of losing the message of the prophets. The more specific details are simply part of the parable."

"Ugh, you know what I'm saying, Monkboy!" Jane argued. "If 'virtue,' whatever on earth that means, depends on where you start, then what good is it? Lazarus can be good just because he never gets a chance to be greedy, but the rich guy gets a chance to fail every day! And I get bonus points for good things I do because I'm a terrible person?"

"I'm concerned you're overemphasizing ethical principles and..."

"Oh, christ, here we go," Jane interrupted, rolling her eyes. "Don't even think of starting with any Aristotle shit."

"Well, how else am I to respond to someone who seems to view virtue as notches accumulated on a shepherd's staff, devoid of context? I must go back to..."

"Holllyyyy shit." Rocky's voice cut them off. The DJ stood in the doorway, rubbing his head in bewilderment. "You aren't gonna keep up this smarty-pants stuff, are you?"

"Oh! My apologies!" Rodrigo exclaimed. "I lost myself in the discussion and became rude." He nodded to Jane with sincere appreciation. "But it was indeed galvanizing! You have the soul of a philosopher, Friend Jane!"

"That's a terrible thing to say to someone," Jane grunted. "But look, here's my point. The mastermind... _whoever that is_..." she paused to glare suspiciously at both of the men in the room with her "...clearly wants us to be all shaken up and uncertain about precisely this kind of ethical thinking."

"Uh, why do you think that?" Rocky asked.

"Because of this whole asinine game! It's a series of mock trials focused on identifying an evidoer for punishment!" She waved her tablet around vaguely. "And it culminates in this final exam where we're given the chance to overthrow the grand villain and escape!"

"But for what purpose?" Rodrigo asked.

"Oh, I couldn't begin to guess," Jane answered sourly. "The mastermind is obviously battier than a cave full of bats. But whatever it is has been more effective at brainwashing intelligent people than is comforting."

"Huh." Rocky raised an eyebrow at her. "So... you saying we shouldn't do this after all? Just tank this exam?"

"Of course not!" Jane snapped. "The result of that would be death! Don't be an oaf." She sighed. "But. Surviving without my own mind is just dying a different way. Let's simply keep reminding ourselves there's more than one way to fail this upcoming test, hm?"

Rodrigo nodded. "Well stated!" he agreed firmly.

Rocky nodded, though he looked far less sure. "Uh. Okay." He held up his bag from the student stores. "I got the tape. We ready to do this?"

"Indeed!" Jane took the bag and set the tape dispenser next to the pens and paper. "Oh, how were the others? Were they still in the quad?"

"Uh. Yeah." Rocky shrugged, rubbing the back of his head uncomfortably. "Still sleeping. I guess that's good."

"It is," Jane affirmed. "I've never cried myself, of course, but I'm led to understand it's exhausting."

Rocky just nodded vaguely, taking in the blank, white wall. "So... uh, how do we do this?"

"Organization, of course!" Jane answered. She quickly grabbed three papers and wrote out headers: KEY PLAYERS and FACTS, and she taped them to the wall as high up as she could reach.

Rodrigo stared in fascinated amazement at the tape dispenser. "Perfectly flat and near invisible..." he murmured. The others ignored him.

"Uh, well, I guess we can just get what we had before," Rocky said. He jotted out some new names and descriptions, taping them up under KEY PLAYERS. With all of their input, they eventually had a list:

 _EUGENE ALAMEDA: Devised the program and created government funding to create it. His stated purpose is to bring talented young people in line with traditional social values. Appears to be a genuine ideologue who believes our country will be ruined if young people are left alone. We don't know if he's still involved with the program, where he is, or what his role has been regarding this semester._

 _THE MASTERMIND: Responsible for kidnapping each student and for programming Monokuma. Presumably, they also monitor or control other aspects of the killing game, but we don't know what they are. They are masquerading as a normal student, and if they are killed, the security systems keeping us from leaving campus are deactivated automatically. Partway through the game, they apparently started changing the typical way the game has been run; we don't know why, or even if this is real. They apparently cannot contact the outside world while taking part in the game._

 _MONOKUMA: An A.I. running the day-to-day operations of the killing game: managing trials, enforcing the rules, opening up new areas of campus, etc. He appears to be at least semi-autonomous. He can appear nearly anywhere on campus thanks to small tunnels leading to most rooms, and he constantly monitors and records our every move. Midway through the game, he was apparently damaged by Barrett's fire, but he gradually seems to have recovered. He acts very frustrated with the unexpected behavior of the mastermind, though this may be a ruse of some kind._

 _THE ALUMNI: Graduates of the School of Ultimates program. A few dozen are successful enough to be well-known, such as Broadway star Romeo San Marcos and 30 Under 30 media luminary Gareth McGregor, but there may be others. Even though all have apparently survived a killing game, no one has gone public with information about it. At least some of them are directly involved in the killing game, and they are set to perform an unknown action if the mastermind doesn't check in with them by a certain point._

 _THE HOLDOVER. A student who has taken part in several killing games, due to a refusal to leave campus after surviving. The mastermind allows the holdover to stay, but we aren't sure why. The holdover and the mastermind presumably know one another's identities, but neither has exposed the other. However, the holdover does not appear to have goals that are entirely in line with those of the mastermind._

 _THE US DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE: Has been funding the killing game for over ten years. Beyond that, their influence is not known._

"Hm, that's all I can think of," Rocky mused. "Should we... get to work on just putting down what we know?"

"I'm afraid that 'know' might be a bit strong," Jane replied. She jotted down and stuck up a note next to the FACTS column that said, Remember: All of this might just be bullshit meant to fuck with us!

"Huh," Rocky mused, "works for me. What do you think, Roddy?"

Rodrigo didn't reply. They looked over and saw him struggling, both of his hands stuck together in reams of scotch tape.

"Oh, for..." Jane took a deep breath. ""Do you need help there, darling?"

"Uh." Rodrigo looked up. "I'm afraid this technology is beyond me."

They freed him, though it took quite a while. Despite the delay, they were quickly able to get down some key facts they had learned:

 _KILLING GAME: A game designed to encourage us to commit murder, and to expose murderers. It is very unclear (and kind of baffling) how this is supposed to accomplish Alameda's goal of bringing young people in line. If a murderer wins, there is one survivor; otherwise, there are a handful of survivors. Our killing game has lasted notably longer than many previous ones._

 _FINAL EXAM INFORMATION: Packets of personal information meant to be discovered by us after the fifth murder, but which instead were released to Juliet early. Most of these packets seem to involve us being betrayed by a person, institution, or ideology we had previously fully trusted. Juliet softened the impact of each one with mitigating information._

 _TRIAL RECORDING: We were given a recording which apparently consists of the end of the Final Exam for a previous class. One of the students was identified as the mastermind and seemingly executed by the surviving students. Two of the voices were electronically altered, presumably because we would otherwise recognize them._

 _THE CRICKET: Every surviving student denied being the mastermind in the cricket, even though it apparently worked on everyone. (We THINK that we remember every student getting flagged for a lie at least once, but we can't recall.) Bepi proved the machine could be tricked, but it's still not clear how the mastermind got away with this._

 _MORGAN'S INFO: Morgan/Vandal spent his time here warning us to leave the school. After he died, papers indicating the history of the killing game were found in his room. It is not known where he obtained this information or how long he had it._

Jane scanned over the wall of information. "Hmm," she mused. "I can't, personally, think of anything else. Unless..." She glanced sideways at the others. "...anyone has information about the mastermind they'd wish to share?"

"Huh?" Rocky glared back at her. "You think it's one of us?!"

Jane shrugged. "From my perspective, there's a 50/50 chance of it." She paused. "Assuming, of course, the mastermind is someone we're currently counting as a 'survivor.'"

They all frowned at one another, and then they decided to add a new fact.

 _CLASSMATES: We clearly saw the inarguably dead bodies of Morgan, Emily, Ashley, Barrett, and Juliet._

"I wish to say something," Rodrigo announced, as they somewhat helplessly considered what they knew. "The mastermind has instigated a duel to the death. I have no intention of letting evil win or of letting my friends come to harm." He clasped his hands behind his back and regarded his classmates with calm determination. "However. In this moment of respite, I will repeat something I've said before: I believe all of the people here have good hearts, and I believe we all can be saved."

Jane and Rocky stared at him. Eventually, Jane tittered nervously. "Your sincerity is risible, but it's almost easy to believe you."

Rodrigo beamed. "I believe that's the first step on the path to faith."

 **MAIN QUAD**

I woke up suddenly, and the first thing I was aware of is how disgusting I felt. My eyelids were actually a little stuck shut with eye boogers and dried tears, and my throat felt salty and hot. Nothing felt real.

It was good that nothing felt real, because it meant Lucina didn't really feel dead. Nothing had meaning right now; everything was just objects.

Katy sat near me, hugging her knees, and there was a bottle of water and a protein bar on the ground next to me. Katy, I realized, was looking at me, but she didn't change expression or position at all from my waking up.

I sat up, brushing my hair out of my eyes, and I picked up the water bottle. I realized I was thirsty mid-sip, and before I knew it, I'd drained the whole thing.

"Did you bring this over?" I asked.

"Yeah."

"Oh. Well, thanks." I took the protein bar and regarded it. I intellectually knew I was hungry, but it felt like the mere thought of eating made me sick. I choked down a couple of bites and felt a little better.

"I'm so sorry," Katy said.

I froze, mid-bite, and glanced up at her. "Sorry?"

"You were in love with her too, weren't you?"

Weirdly, this didn't phase me much. "Probably? I don't have much perspective."

"I should have realized it. I should have.."

"Katy." My voice was raspy but still stopped her cold. "I was stupidly jealous. I mean it. Jealous in stupid ways. Stupid with jealousy." We gazed blankly at one another. "It's a killing game, right? We're allowed to not be perfect."

Her eyes were hopeless. "I almost killed everybody."

I took another bite of my protein bar thoughtfully. "Really? Would you have been able to go through with it in the end?"

She held eye contact for a moment, then signed and pressed her cheek against her legs. "I don't know. Maybe. I didn't even put it together that anyone else was in danger until I'd already committed." She was silent for a moment. The air was chilly, and I hadn't even noticed before. "The thing about stories is, they end. You know? After the big tragic climax, you don't have to keep going."

I glanced up at her, raising an eyebrow. "You had better fucking keep going," I grunted. "I am not going through this only to see you die anyway."

She squeezed her knees tighter. "Yeah. Yeah, I guess I owe you."

"It's not about that!" I snapped. "There's just been too much pointless death already! All of this is stupid and pointless and I can't have it keep going that way, I'll go crazy!"

"Okay," Katy replied. "Let's stay alive, then."

We were silent for another moment, and then Katy spoke up again. "I helped make them happy. Lucina and Mackenzie."

I looked up at the sky; it was dusk and everything was red-grey. "Yeah, I think you did."

Katy looked over and smiled wanly. "Thank you," she said, "but that wasn't a question. I did. I know I did. I messed up a lot, but I was good for them and I'm not gonna forget it." She paused. "Um. I'm pretty sure you made Lucina happy, too. And Bepi. And probably everyone we've lost, somehow, but definitely those two." She grimaced. "Even Juliet. I was pretty sure no one could reach him, but you somehow did."

I blinked in surprise. "'Him?'"

"Yeah," she answered, eyes and voice sad. "I think that's where he would have gone if his parents hasn't been... like they were. You don't have to call him 'him,' but I'm gonna." She somehow managed a grin. "Partly just 'cause Monokuma will _hate_ it."

I found myself grinning back.

"There were always picketers at my book signings and stuff," she said. "Some people, it made them so mad just to see me existing, much less successful." She sniffled slightly, but I didn't see any more tears. "Lucina was my reason for going on, here. And Mackenzie was my reason for going on, before. But... but I kind of think people like _that_ are what I can use."

I nodded. "Yeah. Succeed to shove it in their face. To spite them."

"No... no, not really." She sighed. "Just, to prove to myself that they're wrong, and my dad's right."

I almost didn't realize I was doing it, but I reached over and found myself taking her hand. I just held it for a minute.

"Can I stick with you, tonight?" she asked. "When we explore the new building? I don't want to be alone, but I also don't want to be with someone I think might be the mastermind."

"Uh." I pulled my hand away gently. "You... still trust me?"

"Well... yeah," she replied. "But that doesn't even matter, right? I dunno how that awful VR thing works, but I don't think you could have been you and the mastermind at the same time."

I started to reply, then froze. I actually had completely not thought of that. "You're right. Everyone else was covered up by those force fields, but we saw one another while the Mastermind was talking."

"Mmm hmm." She paused, almost shyly. "And we haven't investigated together for a while, but I think we work well as a team."

I nodded, and then I made a decision. I had no idea whether it was extremely stupid or not, but I felt at the moment it was the best thing. "So... okay, I need to tell you something."

"Hm?" she asked, tilting her head cutely.

"Uh. It's not something I've told anyone else, but I just have this feeling it'll get me in trouble if I keep it secret."

"What is it?"

"It's... the information I got. You know, from Juliet." I bit the bullet and just said it. "It was this memo from someone making the game. And it said... I was the daughter of one of the leaders here, and they'd brought me in to be the mastermind."

She gasped and scooted back an inch, I hope out of reflex. "Is... it true?"

"No! I've never heard of this place before applying! It said my dad was someone named Major Kindschwall, which was absolutely not my dad's name, and he definitely was never a major!"

Katy blinked. "Kind...schwall?"

"Yeah. But see, the thing is, we were all supposed to find this, like, tonight. Among all the stuff we find about everyone else."

"Oh..." Katy gasped. "We would have believed it. Everyone finds these things about themselves that are true, and we'd never think yours was fake. We would..." She trailed off in thought, then looked back up at me seriously. "Where's this memo now?"

"Uh, gone," I answered. "I took it into a bathroom and soaked it with water until it turned to mush, and then I flushed the mush down the toilet."

"Okay." Katy took a deep breath. "Okay. Saya?" She reached out and put a soft hand just very gently against my leg. "I believe you. I know you couldn't be the mastermind." She frowned. "But... but just because of how the mastermind themselves is acting! I don't know why they'd frame you, but I _really_ don't know why they'd plan to frame you and then wreck it!"

"You see why I wanted to tell someone? This is just... it's so confusing. I didn't want to be alone at the mercy of... whatever they have planned."

She nodded. "I'll support you, I promise. The mastermind is not going to win."

I looked at her determined but still miserable expression, and I actually felt a little better. Still, I made a mental note to myself about this whole thing, just to make sure I wouldn't forget it.

 _SAYA'S MEMO: An internal memo supposedly between people running the killing game. It exposes Saya as one the daughter of one of the higher-ups behind this program, and that she has been placed among the rest of the students as the mastermind. This was supposed to be found in the lead-up to the final exam, but the mastermind, for unknown reasons, released it to Juliet early._

"Hey, Saya," Katy said, interrupting my musing. "When we get out of here, will you stay with me?"

"Um. What?"

"No, I mean..." Blushing, she waved her hands around. "Not like forever! Just... to grieve. I think... I mean, I wouldn't blame you if you hated me, or that you wouldn't want anything to do with any of us. But no matter what, you're... you're still my first real friend, and I don't want you to be alone. I mean, I don't want to be alone either, but I feel like I can't bear it if _both_ of us are."

I just looked at her for a moment, then I sighed. "Come on," I said, struggling painfully to my feet. "I'm going for a run."

"Uh. What?"

I reached down, and she blankly took my hand and let me pull her to a standing position. "Running helps me reset. It's like... meditative. I gotta get some in before tonight if I'm going to help at all."

"Um." She looked awkward and shy and frankly kind of adorable. "I don't run much..."

"Give it a try," I said. "If nothing else, it'll help you not think."

After a moment, she nodded. Silently, she let me lead her off to the gym.

 **DORM: SAYA'S ROOM**

Katy was cleartly correct that she doesn't run much: she was panting almost immediately. But still, we just got on adjacent treadmills and just went. She jog-walked a lot, but she kept going. By the end, we were both gross and sweaty and I felt blissfully empty. We smiled at each other.

After grabbing some food, I went back to my room for a shower. I lingered, just feeling the hot water drumming on my scalp and back.

This was it. We were almost done. I'd fallen into a nightmare and maybe I'd actually survive it.

I realized I had completely lost track of how many days I'd even been here. All I knew was, it felt like fall outside. I'd grown up in Miami, and so I thought I'd hate any sort of cold. But I didn't. It was energizing.

After drying myself off and brushing my hair, I found myself pausing. I looked at my usual sweater, lying spread out on the bed. It looked fine. A pleasant color, kind of loose.

I decided: I was not going to wear it tonight.

Checking my tablet, I saw I still had about an hour and a half before it was time to start. I set down at my chessboard and imagined games: pieces moving almost blindingly fast, move after move after move. I relaxed. Lucina's hand rested on my shoulder, and I felt its warmth.

 **MAIN QUAD**

Everyone was already outside by the time I got there. Every single one of them looked exhausted, but nobody looked scared.

Everyone stared a little when I came up (Jane, I noticed, did a literal double-take). "Oh!" Rocky exclaimed. "Uh. Holy shit, dude, you look different."

I shrugged. "Yeah. I decided to wear the turtleneck Nicole made for me. She was right. It looks great."

"Yeah it does," Jane agreed.

I smirked at her. "I figured," I said to everyone, "that when I look in the mirror, I want to see someone with her shit together. Because we are not the kind of people who fail exams."

"Hey, assholes!" a familiar and horrible voice screeched from nearby. "Let's get started!"

Monokuma was standing in front of the door to... our dorm. "C'mon!" he shrieked, and then went inside.

Glancing at one another in confusion, we followed.

 **DORM: LOUNGE**

Monokuma led us into the lounge and stood there impatiently as we filed in. "Well, here we are!" he announced sourly. "Welcome to the administration building! You'll have six hours to search this place and find the information needed to answer your exam questions!"

"Wait," Katy said, goggling her eyes. " _This_ is the administration building? Our dorm?!"

"What, you think we're just wasting space on a cramped campus like this?!" the bear snapped. "Of course those extra floors are used for something!"

I realized, for the first time, he was holding a small remote control in his paw. He whapped his other paw down on it, and immediately there was a nearly deafening clamor coming from outside: screaming gears and clanking machinery. After nearly a full minute, it ended.

Without another word, Monokuma waddled back out the door. Still perplexed, the rest of us followed him.

 **DORM: MAIN ENTRANCE**

The entrance room had changed. The passages off to the elevators were sealed off with steel doors. Instead, there was now a new, open doorway where there had only been blank wall before. It was a new elevator, sparkly clean and shiny.

Monokuma led us inside. He pushed the single button on the wall, and the doors closed.

"You're not going to do it," Monokuma grumbled as we slowly began to ascend. "Stupid, spoiled kids can't do anything..."

But I barely even heard him. Instead, I looked around at all the rest of my classmates: still tired, still not scared. We were ready.


	45. All Nighter

We stepped off the elevator into one of the most boring-looking hallways I'd ever seen. There was nothing strange or suspicious about it, just off-white walls and humming, fluorescent lights. It was so not creepy, I felt a little creeped out.

"Here it is!" Monokuma announced sourly. "The grand final playground whatever whatever who cares. If a door is closed and locked, then it's not relevant to your final exam, so don't both me about it!"

"Uh huh," I replied skeptically. "Locked doors to nothing we shouldn't worry about, huh?"

"Well, one of those locked doors is the way out, but c'mon, we're not letting off that easy," he growled. "Other than that, there's a lot of storage rooms, and visiting faculty needs office space... when we have visiting faculty. There is more than enough evidence out in the open for you to pass the exam, if you're smart enough."

Rocky and Jane had already wandered off, and Rodrigo seemed to be heading that way, too, but I raised my eyebrow. "Is that it?" I asked.

"Grrrph..." He mumbled something under his breath, then turned to me. "I'm supposed to tell you to pay special attention to the two... I mean, the _three_ offices that are open. They're three different sizes; we call them the baby bear, the mama bear, and the papa bear. Together, they're the 'home base' of this whole operation."

"Hmm." I glanced back at the elevator we'd just emerged from. "How'd you open this up, anyway? Is that remote the only way you can do it?"

"Hah!" he sneered. "You aren't getting any information out of me!"

I reached my hand out to him. "Okay then, let me see that remote."

"Wha?!" He pulled the remote control in and clutched it possessively. "No!"

"I'm supposed to search this place!" I argued. "You can't just keep me from examining something right in front of me."

"Ghh!" He stomped his foot. "I'll answer your questions, just don't mess with my remote! You'll break it!" He glared. "You're supposed to be scared of me!"

I decided to ignore this last comment. "Is this elevator the only way to this part of the building? And is the remote the only way to open up the elevator?"

"There's a whole network!" he answered, almost proudly. "Tunnels and hallways and tubes, running all through campus! There's elevators like this one in a couple of different buildings!"

"So when you revealed this elevator, you also revealed elevators in... say, the science building?" Katy asked. "The whole campus has a part for the students, and then a whole other part for you?"

"Yes, but there's nothing anywhere else that will help you on the exam! All you need is riiiight here!"

I glanced at Katy. "Remember when we told you about the hidden door and the shaft we found in the ROTC?" I explained to her. "There was, like, a hallway at the bottom of it, and Monokuma was there. That must have been part of this 'network.' He's got a bunch of those little shafts all around he can use to get in and out, but they'd be too small for us. I couldn't fit my shoulders through."

She nodded. "So that remote really is the only way we could get in."

"Uhhhh..." Monokuma piped up. "There's also _technically_ the trial elevator, out in the main quad."

"Hmm. The courtroom is 'your' space?"

"Of course! I'm working practically nonstop to make those personalized executions, after all! But _that_ elevator only opens up when I'm in trial mode. Every other time?" He held up his remote proudly. "This is the only way you'd be able to get through from one side to the other!"

"It's kind of a big production," I remarked. "It's really loud and takes forever, and it moves walls around. If it happens all over campus, there'd be no way to do it without everyone knowing."

"Yes, which is why we wait for the exam!" Monokuma snapped. "Your professors have reasons for doing things, y'know! We don't just make stuff up to mess with you!"

"So Nicole was right," I muttered. "A certain number of people really did just have to die before it was even possible for us to escape."

"The world is a harsh place!" Monokuma shouted.

I was done with him. With a nod of my head, I indicated to Katy that we start exploring. We left him there, glaring after us.

But, he called after us. "Hold on! One thing."

I turned, raising my eyebrow. "Yes?"

"Grrph. I do not approve of this. But." He crossed his arms across his chest, pouting. "I'm supposed to give you a hint."

"A hint?"

"Here it is." He absolutely hated doing this, it was obvious. "In order to solve this mystery, you'll have to remember the clue that you never used."

I blinked and glanced at Katy, who looked equally perplexed. "The clue we never..."

"I'm not saying it again! Just go!" He turned his back and huffily faced the other way. It was almost cute.

 **ADMINISTRATION BUILDING: PAPA BEAR**

We came to a huge office containing a huge desk and a filing cabinet not much else. On the top of the desk was a few papers and a laptop computer which looked comically tiny on the huge, oak surface. Rodrigo was at the filing cabinet, flipping through papers a bit helplessly.

Katy chuckled slightly. "It's kinda endearing," she remarked. "It looks like they didn't know how to use all this room."

"I wonder if they meant for more people to be working here than ended up happening," I said, then I paused. "Sorry: we're just gathering evidence now, no interpretations." I glanced up at Rodrigo. "Find anything?"

"I am not sure." He glanced at the papers. "Mere nonsense, I'm afraid. Unless the name 'Major Kindschwall' might mean anything to you?"

Both Katy and I froze. "Um," I said. "Nnno. Why?'"

"There are a number of papers with his name!" Rodrigo answered. "And they are all nearly the same. 'Tis perplexing!"

I looked over at Katy, who very subtly shrugged. We walked over and examined the paper Rodrigo was holding up:

 _TO: Maj. Kindschwall_

 _SUBJ: Your son_

 _Sir,_

 _The upcoming semester is almost upon us, and before it's too late, I'd like to address some concerns about the inclusion of your son in the new class of Ultimates._

 _I have met him and have no doubts about his intelligence. However, our psychological profile has determined that he has a high need for independence. This is not a bad trait (indeed, in many cases it's good!), but we're concerned he may be difficult to control. His dedication to our mission is obvious, but he may want to do things "his way."_

 _Under typical circumstances, I would find him easy to work with (particularly compared to some earlier classes' masterminds) and would be in constant contact. However, as always, I cannot guarantee his safety. Does he truly understand the risk? Do you?_

 _His technical talents will aid us in case something goes wrong with the bear or with the security systems... especially useful since none of the other students have an Ultimate Talent remotely connected to computers. However, I did clear up one point of concern: 'Jordan' is one of the top 30 names of boys his age and demographics, so there shouldn't be any problem with using it as his alias._

 _Again, I am not concerned about his competence. Primarily, I am motivated to preserve his well-being. All previous masterminds have graduated safely, but we all understand it's especially important for the child of an administrator!_

I was a little dumbstruck. This was almost exactly the same as the memo supposedly incriminating me, but the details were all different.

"There's a number of these messages," Rodrigo explained. "I know not how any man could have so many children!"

"It goes out of its way to mention the person's name and his talent," Katy pointed out. "Do the rest of them do that, too?"

We flipped through a few more papers: yes, each one contained the subject's alias and talent, just like mine had.

"There's at least a score of these," Rodrigo said.

I nodded thoughtfully. "I'm going to check out the computer," I said, indicating the laptop . "Let us know if you find anything else." He nodded, giving me a determined look.

I went over to the desk and sat in the very unnecessarily padded and expensive-looking chair. The laptop didn't look particularly new, but it seemed functional and in good condition. I switched it on and waited for it to boot up.

Katy leaned over my shoulder as just two icons appeared on the screen: a recycle bin (which we quickly confirmed was empty) and an email program.

"Is this all that's on here, or is everything else, like... blocked off somehow?" I asked.

Katy reached down and clicked the cursor around vaguely. "I... don't know how to check that." We glanced over to the only other person in the room as he struggled to reason out the concept of a manila folder. There was clearly no help there.

"They're not even making it subtle they're trying to to lead us somewhere," Katy remarked. "They're obviously picking stuff out to show us. Curating it."

I glanced at her, clicking on the email program's icon. "You think we can't trust what we find?"

A burst of static surprised me, and Monokuma's voice burst through hidden speakers. "Is someone doubting the veracity of my evidence?!"

"Uh." I wasn't sure what to say, but I shrugged to Katy and Rodrigo and glanced up at the ceiling. "Not... really? It's not a secret this whole thing is meant to do something to us; that was one of the questions on the exam! So how can we trust anything we find?"

"Respect your elders!" Monokuma rasped. "Of course, everything you'll find is..." he trailed off. "...Okay, I can't say it's all _true_ , necessarily. But it's all _real_. If you find a document in a filing cabinet, that document was really used in that filing cabinet by someone working here."

"Hmmm. So..." I gestured to the computer. "If we found an email on here that seems like it was sent two years ago, and it says 'The mastermind's name is Jimmy,' then the mastermind's name might not really be Jimmy. But, it's definitely a real email that really was sent two years ago by someone using this computer."

"Yes! I think! Kind of!" Monokuma seemed tense. "Look, this is new to us all. We're doing it together!" With an audible click, he signed off the PA system.

Katy rubbed the back of her neck in consternation. "So. Uh, do we believe him?"

"I think we should," Rodrigo spoke up.

"...Yeah," I agreed. "I'm not sure what else to do."

"Hm." Katy thought for a moment. "I think he's telling the truth, because all of this would be pointless if he wasn't. Like... I remember one time, I was playing a video game, and I thought, 'Why is there even a path to the bad guy?' You know? Why doesn't he just go somewhere I can't go? And the only answer is: there's no game if he does that. This is the same deal: why would they do all this if we couldn't win? But... I think 'winning' might not be what we want it to be."

I nodded grimly. "Like what Bepi said right before he died. That's the brainwashing. They break us down and make us feel like nothing makes sense: here's a murder bear! Here's some death trials! Then they give us something we have to make sense of, and we grab onto it, it becomes our new reality."

"Oh dear," Rodrigo commented. "Do... do you believe Friend Bepi would tell us not to try to solve this mystery, because it's just what the mastermind wants?"

"Yeah, probably," I answered. "Bepi never thought things should make sense. But that's what got him killed, so I kind of don't feel like fucking with it."

My directness apparently left them at a loss for words for a moment, which I hadn't intended. "Um. Mail program works, but of course we're not connected," I pointed out, trying to change the subject.

Katy leaned closer to the screen. "Just three emails, all from 'eugene dash alameda at nhu dot edu.' And to..." She trailed off. "Uh. This is a joke, right?"

"I... maybe?" I felt like doing that thing cartoon characters did when they couldn't believe their eyes: rubbing them with my fists and looking again. But it was just plainly true.

"What is it?" Rodrigo asked.

"Uh, the other email here?" I answered, "It's literally 'holdover at nhu dot edu.'" Rodrigo stared at me uncomprehendingly, so I tried to clarify. "This person, like... named themselves 'holdover' online."

"Ah." Rodrigo crossed his arms, pondering this information. "So this person is... the holdover?"

"I mean, it sure seems that way," I replied. "But..." I sighed and shook my head. "No. Let's just take in the information and not speculate about it."

I opened up the first email. The message itself was from Eugene Alameda's email, and each reply alternated between it and the holdover email.

 _ **SUBJ: Monokuma**_

 _Fine, I won't play Fergalicious. But Destiny's Child falls under the Beyonce banner, and nobody can deny Beyonce._

 _-Can't we at least draw the line at Fergalicious? Or, for that matter, Bootielicious?_

 _\- -I can't help it. He sings what he hears. It's how he's programmed. And I'm not changing my music tastes. You can always leave._

 _\- - -OK, the bear was just walking down the hallway singing Dancing On My Own by Robyn and it seriously freaked me out_

"Uh."

I was legitimately unsure what to make of this, and based on the look on her face, Katy was in the same boat.

We opened up the next email. This one was very clearly more informative. Again, the email itself was from the Alameda address, and the responses alternated.

 _ **SUBJ: This fall's class**_

 _No._

 _-Noted. This'll be the semester I just tell them all on the first day and ruin everything. Wouldn't that be funny?_

 _\- -It's not a fucking joke. She's the most dangerous student we've ever had. Also, in case you care, I've decided Saya Wild will be the detective, with Emily Voss and Nicole Archina as the backups._

 _\- - -her name is seriously 'Juliet Mountebank?'_

 _\- - - -Heads up: We dug up new information on this Juliet Mountebank person, and I can't stress enough how dangerous she is. It's probably stupid to even recruit her, but she'll be a huge asset if she graduates._

"You were the... detective?" Katy asked.

"I guess so." I frowned, wondering what this role of 'detective' meant.

The final email followed the same pattern as the others: alternating between Alameda and the holdover addresses.

 _ **SUBJ: asap help**_

 _Thanks. Last chance to leave before we start._

 _-christ okay I did it._

 _\- -I'm busy getting the wheelchairs in place so I can move everyone to their rooms! You're not helping me, you're just keeping the first day from being a shitshow like last semester's was!_

 _\- - -I don't fucking work for you. Do it yourself._

 _\- - - -I need you to get the Cassandra papers from the copy room and put them upstairs. they need to be there before he wakes up, and he'll wake up before everyone else. Remember: the Cassandra this time is Morgan Lee._

"Cassandra?" I mumbled. "Is that some kind of reference?"

"Uh, Cassandra's from Greek myths, I think?" Katy ventured.

"Aye," Rodrigo added. "She's the fortuneteller tragically doomed to correctly predict the future, but never to be believed."

"So, there's the Detective, who was Saya, and the Cassandra, who was Morgan," Katy mused. "I wonder how many of these roles there are."

I stood up. "I want to keep looking. Rodrigo, can you let us know if you find anything else in here?"

He nodded and I started heading to the exit, but I turned and found with a lot of confusion that Katy was nowhere to be found. "Uh... Katy?"

"I'm here!" A hand stuck up from behind the huge desk. "I got something, I think?"

Both Rodrigo and I went over to her. She was squatting next to the desk, poking through a waste basket. "It's mostly, like, old candy wrappers," she said, "but I also found... this."

She handed over a plain piece of paper, neat creases across it from having been folded. Written on it, in clear, sharp handwriting, was, _New location: V's place. Same time we planned._ _Bring the item._

"It seemed important," Katy explained, looking a bit embarrassed.

"It might be," I agreed. I gave her what I hoped was an encouraging smile. Then, after a goodbye to Rodrigo, we headed out of the office.

 **ADMIN BUILDING: HALLWAY**

Katy still looked uncomfortable, so I paused before heading to the next room. "How're you feeling?" She looked at me like I was absolute insane, so I clarified. "I mean, physically."

"Oh." She sniffed and shrugged. "I can breathe, now. It doesn't look good, though, does it?"

It really did not: her nose was still purple and red, and there were other bruises on her face. "You've looked better. Are the cuts hurting?"

"They're not too bad. Thanks for asking about it." There was a pause, and then she pressed her hand against her forehead. "God. I'm imagining how I'd feel if you were acting like this, and then I found that fake memo without knowing about it. It'd be... just chilling." She shuddered. "I've had to rely on you this whole time. I'd feel sick. I'd be so horrified by you."

I frowned. "Yeah. With the role I've settled into here, it'd be more of a betrayal than anyone else, huh?"

"Yeah," she replied, giving me a meaningful look. "Because you figured everything out. You saved us, over and over. You're the detective."

"Oh." I saw what she was getting at. "Let's... not speculate now."

She nodded. We kept going.

 **ADMINISTRATION BUILDING: COMPUTER ROOM**

We went up a small flight of stairs and came to a rather large room full of sleek panels and bright lights. Smooth, complicated, futuristic-looking tech stuff was on these panels, and there was a vague hum all around us.

"Huh, it's like the top floor of the science building," I said, examining one of the panels and very afraid to touch it. "But... way newer."

"Yeah," Katy agreed. "I wonder if..."

"Who's there?!" barked a hoarse, gruff voice. We jumped in shock, but it continued, "Visitors? Well now, we ain't had visitors in a week of Tuesdays! Come set a spell!"

The voice was coming from the center of the room. "I keep telling myself I can't be surprised by anything any more," I remarked to Katy. "Right now, I'm saying, 'Whatever just talked to us isn't going to surprise me.'"

"I think it totally is," she said.

"I think you're right." Sighing, we made our way to the center of the room.

Katy was right. I was surprised. Because what we found was Monokuma sitting there in this ultra-modern room on a rocking chair. He had a long, white beard and a scraggly, floppy hat, and he was whittling.

"Well now!" he bellowed. "Some young-uns! What would pretty young girls like you be doing here? Didjer Pokeman Go tell you there's monsters here? I ain't a Pokyman, don't capture me!" He laugh-coughed.

Luckily, this was so completely weird, it went all the way around again and became comprehendible. "We're investigating."

"Investigating in here?" Hillbilly Monokuma asked. "Lord, the world keeps on a-changin."

"Why do you have a beard now?" Katy asked abruptly. "Are you Monokuma?"

"Oh! Well, now." He rocked back and forth a few times. "That's a complicated question, iffn you want to know the truth! I'm part of him. He's kind of all around us, and so am I!" He gestured to the panels around him.

"Oh..." I said, rubbing my chin in thought. "Are these the computers Monokuma runs on?"

"Yep! We're not as fast as the A.I. those yankee traitors got up at MIT, but we're more efficient! Their servers take up twice as much room!" He cackled.

"And... you're what... the guard?" I asked.

"Naw!" he answered, and I realized he wasn't holding a knife and was just using one of his claws to whittle. "I'm the safe mode backup! I ain't got any of the highfalutin features and intelligence that other Monokuma got, but that means I can just be hummin away all the time. I practically fit in a phone!" He paused. "A really good phone," he clarified, his accent slipping a bit.

"Yeah, but... what do you _do_?" Katy asked. "What are you for?"

"Whittlin, mostly! But also listening. I take care of all the automatic features and user commands, so the other guy can use his brainpower learning how to act human and coming up with executions."

That caught my attention. "User commands?"

"Oh, sure! There's a whole list over there!" He pointed over at a big poster up on the wall I hadn't noticed before. "But don't even try usin 'em! They won't work for you!"

I raised a skeptical eyebrow, but the poster was most important now. Examining it, I saw that it didn't look professionally printed: it was high quality paper and ink, but it wasn't laminated or anything. At the top there was a short set of instructions:

Hey mastermind, I updated the software to allow for basic voice commands now! It was a little tricky, because I had to work within the confines of the doc's original program, but I figured it out. You can use any command anywhere on campus, as long as at least two (2) of the recording microphones pick up your voice! Just speak loudly and clearly, and your command should be registered no matter where on campus you are!  
Note: All command words must be spoken IN THE CORRECT ORDER and WITHIN A TWENTY SECOND TIME SPAN.

Next, there was a list of commands:

 _START - begins the game_

 _ABORT - ends the game, sets Monokuma to standby mode; turns off security systems_

 _IGNORE - brings the system out of trial/execution mode and ignores the most recent murder_

 _RECALL - essentially undoes an IGNORE command: causes the system to consider the most recent murder again_

 _RESET - quits and reboots the system; useful for troubleshooting problems with Monokuma_

 _DUNCE - turns off Monokuma's human mimicry interface_

 _TRIALNOW - forces trial/execution mode_

 _OPENDOOR - allows exit from campus (warning: does not turn off security systems)_

 _FINAL - forces final exam mode_

 _These are the ones I think will be most useful. The full list is in the manual!_

And at the bottom was one handwritten addition:

 _If you get in trouble:_

 _execution + my initials_

 _don't say I never did anything for you_

Katy and I glanced at each other. Then we glanced at Hillbilly Monokuma, and we glanced at one another again. "Abort," I announced loudly.

Nothing happened.

"Oh, stop it," he snapped. "I toldja, it ain't gonna work! You don't know the secret, 'cause you're not the mastermind!" He paused. "...Are you the mastermind?"

I was not quite sure how to respond to that. "Uh..."

"That was a trick!" he screeched. "Of course I know you're not the mastermind! That's the whole dang point of being the mastermind, is so Monokuma recognizes you and helps you out! If you were the mastermind, I'd recognize all your biometrics and everything. You are _not_ the mastermind!"

Katy glanced at me. "Um, Saya, it's a little bit seeming like he's protesting too much about this."

"Yeah, I know." I put my hands on my hips and tried to sound firm. "Why do you keep saying that?"

"Stop trying to confuse me!" he snapped. "There's only one mastermind at a time, max, and that ain't you!"

"Am _I_ the mastermind?" Katy asked.

"Well, I dunno!" he answered sarcastically. "Didja register as the mastermind in the special Mastermind Room?"

He stopped talking, and both of us waited. Realizing he wouldn't continue, I glanced at Katy. "Well, did you?"

"Don't answer that!" Hillbilly Monokuma barked. "It wasn't a real question!" He began whittling faster. "I'm startin to get the notion you ain't welcome on my property."

"Um..."

"Git!" He waved his claws at us threateningly, still rocking. "Tarnation, you heard me, git! There ain't nothin else to see in here, anyhow!"

Bemused, I backed off a few steps. I couldn't think of anything else to do, so after a silent shrug from Katy, I turned to go.

"Hold on, one sec!" Hillbilly Monokuma called after us. "Somethin's been fryin my hide ever since you kids showed up here!"

Suspicious, I turned to look at him. "Yeah?"

"What's the deal with you kids this semester and the letter J?"

"Uh." I blinked, and a glance to Katy showed she was no help. "What?"

"The letter J!"

"I don't... um..."

"Ah, fergit it!" He resumed slowly whittling. "Stubborn rugrats..."

Still perplexed, we filed out of the room, leaving him to his mumbling.

 **ADMINISTRATION BUILDING: HALLWAY**

When we got outside, Katy stopped and looked at me seriously. "I didn't register as the mastermind in the Mastermind Room. In case you weren't sure."

"Yeah." I rolled my eyes. "I mean, the supposed existence of something called 'The Mastermind Room' was already challenging my ability to take that whole thing seriously."

"Okay." She somehow made her expression even more serious. "And I really don't think you're the mastermind either, despite how he was acting."

"Uh." I paused for a second. "Thanks." She smiled and kept walking. Still a little confused, I followed.

 **ADMINISTRATION BUILDING: MAMA BEAR**

Unlike the papa bear office, it looked like this one had actually been worked in at some point in time. There were bookshelves, a nice desk, some pots I assume plants had been in at some point, even a printer in the corner.

There was also a very dead body sitting behind the desk.

Jane was glancing at the bookshelves when we walked in. "Oh," she said, and nothing else.

I took a step closer to the desk, noting idly it didn't even really smell that bad. I'd seen many dead bodies recently (and I had to stave off a flare-up of horror at merely reminding myself of that) but this body looked _dead_. All shriveled and flaky.

"It looks kinda... mummified," Katy observed, looking sick.

"It basically is," Jane replied, not looking at us. "It's all dried up from being out in the air conditioning. If you ask me, it's been sitting there, in place, since death."

I frowned, but nothing in my limited knowledge contradicted that. "How long do you think it's been here?" I asked.

"Ugh, read the tablet," Jane grunted, finally giving us a glare. She offhandedly indicated an electronic tablet sitting on the desk.

Katy was not distracted by Jane's newfound dismissiveness, so she went up, picked the tablet up, and turned it on, holding it up so I could see. Electronic text spelled out:

 _BODY REPORT: The victim is Eugene Alameda. He was killed 6 years, 6 months, and 11 days ago._

 _Cause of death is choking on a meatball submarine sandwich._

 _The body also has injuries on the wrists and ankles, and a small burn on the chest. No drugs or chemicals were found in the body._

"Eugene Alameda?!" Katy yelped. "This is..." She looked around in bafflement before gaping at me. "He's been dead for _six years_?!"

"And he choked on a sub. That is... not dignified." I stepped closer to the body. It was very difficult to tell much about it, since it was kind of melted into the fake-leather chair it was sitting in, but nylon apparently takes longer to decompose than flesh. "There's ropes tying his wrists and ankles to the chair. So I'm guessing this wasn't an accidental death."

"What a weird way to kill someone," Katy mused, shuddering. "Really awful."

"Look under the desk," Jane said, still not looking at us.

I glared at her. "Can't you just help out like a normal person? What's under there?"

She half-turned and glared at me over her shoulder. "Perhaps I want to see how you both react to the evidence here," she declared. Her eyes quickly shifted to Katy, then back to me. "One of us is a traitor, remember."

"Of course I remember!" I snapped. "But it doesn't do any good to be all weird and coy."

"Oh, please, there's nothing weird about what _I'm_ doing."

"You two are fucking," Katy said.

Jane very quickly turned back to face the bookshelves, but not before I caught how red her face was. I was... weirdly unphased. "I don't know if the present tense is accurate. We fucked. And if we survive, uh, we might again."

"Probably," Jane said.

"Yeah. Probably."

Katy was beaming: a huge, genuine, bright smile. "Girl love!" she sang with absolute pure delight. "Girl love! Girl love!"

"I'm twenty-five!" Jane grunted. "And we're not in love."

"Not yettttt," Katy cooed. She wrapped her arms around me in a crushing hug. "I can't believe it! Among all this horror, the seeds of girl love still can sprout!"

"Grrph!" Jane still wasn't turning around. "Dead body! Dead body! Look under the desk! Murder!"

Katy pulled away, still smiling brightly. "I know it's serious, but thank you for letting me be happy about something for a minute, at least." I couldn't do anything but just nod back.

Finally, I got down on my knees and looked under the desk. "What is it?" Katy asked.

"It's... oh." I reached under and pulled out a small device. "It's a stun gun."

"Huh... oh!" Katy snapped her fingers. "The burn! He had a burn on his chest. That'd fit a stun gun, right? It also explains how he'd let himself get tied up."

"That makes sense," I replied, examining the weapon. "Too bad we can't see how big the burn was." Despite my general hard rule against speculating, this made too much sense to ignore. He was zapped, then tied up, then had the sub forced down his throat until he choked.

I started pushing myself up to my feet, and as I did, I noticed a piece of white paper tacked to the inside of the door; I hadn't seen it going in. It looked odd, like it wasn't supposed to be there.

"Huh." I walked over to examine the paper. It was a handwritten note, the letters big and very clear. It said:

 _This is my confession._

 _He's dead. I killed him._

 _I wanted to trust him. So badly. I was going to give him a chance to explain how this was a mistake. But when he saw me, he just asked how I was here._

 _The rest is just a blur. He's dead now._

"Hm," Katy said. "So yeah, more evidence it's a murder."

I nodded, leaning forward and looking closer at the note. I couldn't tell, but it seemed to be the same handwriting as the final note in the computer room: it was the same large, clear, confident script.

"This place is pretty sparse," I noted, glancing around the room. "Did you find any other evidence, Jane?"

Jane just turned around and looked at me silently, arms crossed. I took that as a no.

"Okay, let's keep searching, I guess," Katy said. "I'll be outside. Catch up with me in a second, Saya!" She left.

I sighed. "It's good she's happy, at least," I said.

Jane didn't reply. Instead, she pointed at her eyes, and then pointed out the door where Katy had gone.

I nodded, the message clear. "She was going to get us all killed," Jane hissed. "Do _not_ trust her."

I frowned, but I nodded again. I turned and left.

 **ADMINISTRATION BUILDING: HALLWAY**

When I got out and we kept going down the hall, we passed a restroom. Katy excused herself, and I waited outside, thinking.

It really wasn't impossible for someone to have two avatars in the simulator. At least, I didn't think so. I should be suspicious. It made sense for Jane to be suspicious.

But then again, maybe I should be suspicious of someone going around telling people to be suspicious? Even with a mastermind among us, we needed some kind of teamwork. Was Jane just trying to ruin that?

This was good. Thinking about this was very good. It made me icy. I could not think about other things.

I spotted Rocky coming down the hall towards me and waved. "Oh hey, dude!" he called. "You still searching?"

"Yeah, with Katy," I answered. "Waiting for her to get out of the bathroom."

"Awesome; there's some cool stuff back that way," Rocky said, pointing in the direction he'd come. "An office and, like, a radio room." He frowned. "Actually, make sure you check out that radio room, okay? It's all weird."

"Weird?"

"Yeah, like it's all military, you know? There's a map with lights on it on the wall, and the radio equipment is super high-tech. You know, super militaryish!"

"I... don't really have an image in my head of a militaryish room, I guess," I admitted.

"Um, like..." He thought for a moment. "There's a big american flag! And... there was a book of codes on the desk and everything used, like, that army alphabet. You know, alpha, bravo, charlie, that thing. All the codes are, like, foxtrot niner!"

"Huh." Made sense. Militaryish.. "But what's the thing you can't figure out?"

"Well, like, I tried to use the radio," he answered. "But I couldn't figure out how to make it work. It just kept repeating this message, but I didn't understand it. I need someone smarter to listen." He blushed slightly. "I'd ask Roddy but, y'know, him and technology."

"Okay, I'll make sure to listen." I paused, giving him slight side-eye. "How's the whole Rodrigo thing working out, anyway?"

"Hm?" He looked up, almost distractedly. "Oh, we're dating."

"Uh." I literally gaped at him for a moment. "But... isn't he straight?"

"Oh yeah, totally straight," Rocky replied, seeming completely unconcerned.

"But..."

"Look, we have our own thing, okay?" Rocky shrugged. "We talked about it."

I realized if Katy was here, she'd be delighted for him. I should be happy for someone I considered my friend, someone I'd gone through a hellish experience with. But all I could think was, "I wonder if the mastermind has an accomplice."

"Yo, I'm gonna keep looking," Rocky said, waving casually. He strode past me, down the hall.

That had been a weird little moment, but I think it was my fault. I probably looked like I was doubting and suspecting him.

After another minute, Katy came out of the bathroom. There had been no toilet flush, and her eyes were red. She'd gone in there to cry.

I tried to casually act like I couldn't tell and probably failed. We kept looking.

 **ADMINISTRATION BUILDING: BABY BEAR**

We came to an incredibly cramped, small office. A chalkboard hung up on the side wall, and there was a tiny window to the outside. A not particularly new computer sat on the single desk the room could contain, looking almost swallowed by stacks of papers surrounding it.

The first thing I noticed was the chalkboard, because scrawled on it, underlined twice, was _Julius Caesar: Act 3, Scene 2._ I thought it might be the same handwriting as in those other two notes, but since it was in chalk, I couldn't really tell.

"Oh, christ, not more Shakespeare," I muttered. I glanced to Katy. "Any idea what that could mean?"

"Hmm." She put her hands on her hips, thinking. "Well, that's the scene with the big, famous speech. Y'know, 'friends Romans countrymen?'"

"Oh." I felt kind of dumb not knowing that. "I know what you're talking about, but why would it be written up there?"

"I dunno," she said. "'Lend me your ears,' maybe it's a clue about ears?" She shrugged. "It's a really good speech, though. He has to convince all these people to hate Brutus, but he can't explain why directly, so he cloaks it all in saying nice things about Brutus."

"I hate Shakespeare," I grumbled. "I can't stand it when I don't understand something immediately."

"Like that writing?"

"Yeah. Exactly like that writing." Sighing, I tried to scoot over to the other side of the desk, where the computer was. I pulled the chair out and sat down.

I was trying to be careful, but apparently not careful enough, because I whacked my shinbone on a footstool, and when I reacted to that I bumped a stack of paper on the desk with my arm, sending it to the floor.

"Ag!" I tried to catch the papers, but I failed; they all spilled off the desk. "Goddamn it!"

"Are you okay?!"

"Yeah." I squeezed my arm under the desk and rubbed by hurting shin. "This place is really cramped."

Trying to recover at least some of my dignity, I turned my attention to the computer. It was on, but like the other one, there wasn't much there I could access.

"It's just two things," I said to Katy, because she couldn't fit on this side of the desk with me to see. "It looks like a pdf and... hm. An audio file, I think."

I clicked on the pdf. It opened up as a screenshot of an email program, one I was unfamiliar with. As I read the email out loud, I thought it was something I'd seen before, but I quickly realized it wasn't. Not by a long shot.

 _TO: Dr. Alameda_

 _SUBJ: Your child_

 _Sir,_

 _The upcoming semester is almost upon us, and before it's too late, I'd like to address some concerns about the inclusion of your child in the new class of Ultimates._

 _You have already made yourself clear about this issue, and I know that you have said that you find it inappropriate for anyone to question your personal decisions._

 _I understand all that, and my purpose with this letter is not to criticize. I simply feel it's important to ask one more time: Are you absolutely certain? It is likely, according to simple base rates, that your child will not survive._

 _On a related matter, I must raise a serious concern. In discussing this, you said "These fucking brats are all the same. All of them, with no exceptions. Let them all burn." (I am including the verbatim quote to avoid any potential misunderstandings.)_

 _This viewpoint is entirely at odds with our mission here, which is to rehabilitate those talented young people who can be rehabilitated. I speak for the entire staff when I say that we find your statements appalling, and we must address this issue before beginning the new semester. We refuse to be a part of a program conducted with malice, and we will leave if you do not explain your comment. All of us. Of course, we will abide by our non-disclosure forms, but you would have to run the entire semester just with Monokuma and yourself. All of us hope to avoid this unfortunate outcome._

"Um, holy shit," Katy said.

"Yeah," I agreed. "Holy shit. It starts just like the others and then... goes in a very different direction."

I looked at the other icon: it was called _Sumxx_examend_extended_. I clicked it and as I thought, it was an audio file: it started playing. Again, I thought it was just old news... at first. It was the recording of the trial, the one Bepi had gotten from the special secret information cube. But it kept going after the last one ended.

"And now we've reached the end, and you know that not only did your plan fail, it backfired! Monokuma! Fulfill your programming! We're done with this garbage!"

"Well, fair's fair!" It was Monokuma. "You passed your final exam, so it's time to graduate! Say goodbye to the mastermind-" There was a censor tone and someone's scream.

A man's high-pitched voice spoke, "What do we do now?"

One of the altered voices (the one who'd been speaking the most) answered. "We go home. But." There was a vicious, almost painful pause. "But we have to keep this going."

There was a huge clamor, voices all talking over one another. The voice-altered speaker somehow talked through it, getting everyone's attention despite their shock. "I know! I know how it sounds. But we have to. Because we never found Alameda himself, and there's more like..." censor tone "...out there. Killing her won't get rid of all of them. They're waiting to be recruited just like she was!"

"God..." a man's voice said." Censor tone "wasn't the only one? We trusted her. She saved us every time there was a murder. If even she could betray us..."

"This is the point," altered voice declared. "I don't know if I can trust anyone who hasn't lived through this nightmare and seen it all with their own eyes."

"I can't believe you're saying this," a woman's voice nearly wailed. "After surviving this, you want to force other people into it?! How can you possibly..."

"We. Are. At. War." The altered voice was harsh, but it didn't sound out-of-control at all. "Did you understand how serious this was, before you came here? Did you understand how far they were willing to go? If someone came to your house and sat you down and tried to explain to you how cruelly and desperately they'll defend their status quo society, would you believe them, or would you laugh at how ridiculous they're being?"

Still, altered voice was forceful but calm. "We need to dedicate our lives to this. Could you possibly have wrapped your head around that before living through this game?" It paused; no one else spoke. "I know the answer for me. I would have been on their side. If this hadn't opened my eyes, I'd be fighting on the same side as those murderers. It makes me sick."

Another silence. Eventually, the other altered voice spoke up. "What do we have to do?"

And then the audio file ended.

"I think... I think I recognized one of those voices," Katy said, startling me. "Could you play it again?"

I complied. We listened until we heard the man that talked about "If even she could betray us." I did not like hearing this part, but at Katy's request, I played it a few more times.

"That's Rufio Johns," Katy said. "I'm certain of it."

"Uh, who?"

"He makes videos. He, uh..." She blushed slightly. "He does nail art. Really, really popular."

"Hmm." I raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure it's him?"

"Yeah, I recognize his voice. And also, I know he graduated from here, two years ago." She raised an eyebrow at me. "Didn't you research everyone who went here before applying?"

I decided to ignore her comment. "Two years?" I asked, and she nodded. I had been trying to keep myself from putting any clues together, but that fact already was messing up some theories I was unintentionally devising. But one look at Katy told me she was pretty sure about this.

I leaned back in the chair and took a deep breath. This was starting to all just become a buzzing in my head.

 **ADMINISTRATION BUILDING: RADIO ROOM**

We were running short on time, so after squeezing my way out of the baby bear (and knocking over another stack of papers in the process) I decided we should quickly head to that radio room that Rocky had mentioned. It was easy to identify with the big flag and map (and he was right; it did look 'military' in a way that was kind of hard to identify).

I went up to the radio, already baffled by the array of controls. I flicked the largest switch I saw.

A voice started talking, so suddenly that Katy let out a little cheep of surprise. The voice was robotic and alien, and it was suddenly terrifying to be in this room.

"...holder response. Message two five five niner not received. Execution of protocol will begin automatically in twelve hours, three minutes, fifty-one seconds. Respond with message two five five niner to avert execution of protocol. This message will repeat. This is a placeholder response. Message two five five niner not received..."

"Oh holy christ that is creepy," I muttered, flicking off the radio.

"Yeah," Katy agreed, shivering a bit. "But... what's it mean?"

"Don't know." On a whim, I opened up the book of codes Rocky had mentioned, sitting on the desk in front of the radio. I couldn't perceive any sort of organization of the codes, so it took me a while, but eventually I found it.

"Here we go, 2559: All clear." I frowned. "So this signal is... waiting to be told 'all clear.'"

"All clear for what?"

"No idea."

We stood in silent thought for a moment, but suddenly Monokuma's voice blared out through the speakers, much louder than the radio voice had been. "All right, you brats! That's it, time's up! I hope you're prepared, because it's time for your final exam! I cannot _wait_ to say goodbye to this nightmare of a semester."

It felt like we'd been there for about ten minutes, but a glance at my tablet showed that yes, it was almost 7:00 am. I did not feel ready at all.

"Okay," I said, taking a deep breath. "We're ready."

Katy, who looked like a wreck ever since Monokuma had spoken, cast her eyes to me hopefully. "Yeah?"

"Yeah." She smiled. Luckily, she didn't ask for anything else.

 **ADMINISTRATION BUILDING: HALLWAY**

And on the way out, we actually found a door labeled Mastermind Room. It was locked, of course. I laughed. Then I kept laughing and kind of couldn't stop. It was actually called the mastermind room. There was just a sign that said it, right there in the hallway: Mastermind Room. This was all the most stupid, ridiculous thing that had ever happened, and I couldn't believe it was happening to me.

 **MAIN QUAD**

I was still laughing by the time we reached the main quad. Katy looked very worried by that point, and I noticed everyone else did, too. This made everything even funnier.

"Friend Saya..." Rodrigo ventured, "...are you... all right?"

It took me a minute, but I eventually choked out, "An animatronic bear is going to murder us if we don't unravel a government conspiracy."

I idly wondered if I had gone insane, but I heard a snicker from Jane.

"He'll probably, like, throw chess pieces at me until I die!" I guffawed. "Isn't that the stupidest thing you've ever heard?!"

Jane started outright laughing, and Rodrigo and Rocky followed suit, tittering just a little. Katy was the only one who didn't.

How could anyone possibly learn anything from this? This whole situation was like a terrible dream where you feel like it's all symbolic but then you wake up and realize it didn't make any sense at all.

Monokuma was saying something. I barely heard him. My throat was aching from the laughter.


	46. Final Exam

I calmed down by the time the elevator reached the bottom, so I was mostly just feeling dizzy when we stepped out into the courtroom. It was decorated just like a classroom: white walls, whiteboards, white floor tiles, glowing fluorescent lights. It was ugly and humble and stark all at once.

Lucina's portrait was just blank. Like she'd never even existed.

After we all settled into place, a door at the side of the room popped open, and Monokuma waddled out, slamming the door behind him. He strode up to a raised platform in the front of the room and glowered down.

"Well," Rocky said. "This is it, I guess."

"Hold on," I said. I loudly recited a series of five words out loud, looking at Monokuma as I did so. Nothing happened.

"Uhhhh, what the fuck?" Rocky asked.

"Never mind," I replied. "Um... anyone have any inspirational remarks or anything?"

"Fuck inspiration," Jane said quickly, looking very unsurprised one of her classmates would spout nonsense. "Let's just get this over with. I'm done worrying about death. Now I'm just concerned with minimizing this pointless delay in my career."

"Ugh," Monokuma grunted sourly. "Shut up, all of you! You gotta listen to this!" He whacked his paw down on some device next to him.

A previously invisible plasma screen came to life on the wall. It showed a shadowy figure looming in a shadowy doorway. As it stood there, a fake computer voice, pleasant and benign like Siri, began speaking.

"Hi. It's me, the mastermind." The figure waved; it was impossible to discern anything about the body except it was just humanoid. "I only have a moment to record this while the rest of you search the admin building, but it's the end of the game, and I feel like I should have something to say. Now that the moment's almost here, though, I'm a little tongue-tied."

The figure shrugged vaguely, then fell silent for a moment. When it spoke again, it was in a casual, musing sort of way that made me a little infuriated. "I've always been confused about the whole 'everybody gets a trophy' thing. Do you know what I'm talking about? Some people... the kind of person the bear is programmed to be like... get _so angry_ about that. It's completely intolerable to them that every kids gets a trophy, even the ones that lose the game. I never understood it.

"I think it must be existential. If rewards aren't 'deserved,' then you can't feel proud of yourself for getting rewarded. Even more than that, being rewarded can't be used as evidence that you're good. It reveals the whole thing is a stupid closed loop: being competent is only good because it gets you rewards, and rewards are only good because they mean you're competent. Some people will never be able to handle that, no matter how radical or extreme they get.

It sighed. "Anyway, you're all the survivors. Soon, you'll maybe be the winners, and you'll come away with money, success, and, of course, your lives. The bear would say that this means you're better than everyone who died in some meaningful way. Maybe he's right. Or, maybe it just means you started out with unfair advantages your departed classmates lacked. I guess I'm just saying... congratulations, survivors. I hope you beat me." The screen blooped mellowly to blackness.

Jane rolled her eyes. "Whoever you are, I can think of about five thousand reasons you can go to hell."

"I actually agree," Monokuma growled. "But enough of that! Start your exam! You have four questions, remember!" He spread out his paws and they appeared on the screen behind him:

* * *

 _ **1\. Who is the mastermind?**_

 _ **2\. What is the secret of the mastermind? (you'll know what it is it if you discover it, trust us)**_

 _ **3\. What is the purpose of this program?**_

 _ **4\. There is a dead man in one of the rooms of the administration building. Who killed him?**_

* * *

"I suggest we start with number three," Rodrigo said. "I believe understanding that will give us important context for the rest of the exam."

"Mm, yes," Jane agreed, sounding like she was trying hard to not sound like she was agreeing. "And it's an easy question. We saw files that spelled the answer out quite clearly."

* * *

 _EUGENE ALAMEDA: Devised the program and created government funding to create it. His stated purpose is to bring talented young people in line with traditional social values. Appears to be a genuine ideologue who believes our country will be ruined if young people are left alone._

* * *

"So it's obvious: this game was designed to make us quiet little cogs of society."

"Yo, but that's changed though, right?" Rocky asked.

"It never made any sense to me in the first place," Katy spoke up. "Why would anyone go along with a society that puts them into a game like this?"

"Ah, friends, I believe we have placed the cart before the horse," Rocky said. "Let us gather all the information we have before attempting to reach conclusions." He nodded to Jane. "I believe what Friend Jane said is correct, about the original intentions behind this program. We also know things have changed, but how?"

"Well, like... the guy who created it is super dead," Rocky ventured. "That's a big change from the start, right?"

"We also heard something about the way things are planned," Katy said. "In those emails. We saw something about a detective..."

* * *

 _It's not a fucking joke. She's the most dangerous student we've ever had. Also, in case you care, I've decided Saya Wild will be the detective, with Emily Voss and Nicole Archina as the backups._

* * *

"...and then a Cassandra."

* * *

 _I need you to get the Cassandra papers from the copy room and put them upstairs. they need to be there before he wakes up, and he'll wake up before everyone else. Remember: the Cassandra this time is Morgan Lee._

* * *

"Huh," Jane mused. "So Morgan was the Cassandra, and I assume Saya was the Detective. Striking."

"Uh, I don't get it," Rocky said. "Cassandra? What's that mean?"

"'Cassandra' is from Greek myths," Katy explained. "She could see the future, but no one believed her. So... if Morgan was playing that role, then the mastermind made it so he knew things... but we wouldn't listen."

"Hmmf," Jane grunted. "Smart choice, at least. I certainly wouldn't be likely to listen to that dullard."

"And we already knew he had information the rest of us didn't have," I said. "A lot of it, actually. Because not only was there the roster sheet we knew about early..."

* * *

 _"The killing game is what this program_ _is_ _," Therion answered calmly. He stepped out from behind his lectern, ignoring Monokuma's protests, and walked directly up to me._

 _He held out a folded paper. Without really even thinking about it, I took it._

 _"Found this on the vandal," he said. "Don't know how he got it. Assume it kicked off his rebellion."_

* * *

"...But there was way more. Earl found it and... I think didn't show anyone."

* * *

 _The room was filled with small pieces of machinery, mechanical blueprints, and tools. But Bepi led me over to the corner, where there was a small pile of paper. The top paper I recognized: it was the folded sheet that Therion gave me just before his execution. But underneath it were more official-looking documents, each one marked with the header New Hope University School of Ultimates: Killing Game Intervention_

 _My mouth hung open as I flipped through the papers. Before I even read the words, I focused on the odd stains and spatters, colorful marks on almost every page. "Paint…" I said out loud. "Did… did these come from Morgan's room?"_

 _"Must have," Bepi answered._

* * *

"It's... chilling," Rodrigo said. "Friend Morgan and Friend Vandal were attempting to warn us, in their way. But because of their illness, we didn't rally behind them."

"Oh, for fuck's sake," Jane snapped. "Instead of just saying what he knew, the kid blew a hole in the lawn and poured red paint into it. That shit isn't on us."

"Um... regardless..." Rodrigo said hastily, "it seems as if we understand the Cassandra role. But it remains unclear why the mastermind would give away such important information about the school."

"Well... what about this detective role?" Rocky asked, glancing up at me. "I mean... like, yeah, Saya pretty much solved all the murders, but how is that a role? And why do they have a backup? Like, yeah, if Saya bites it, then we need someone else to figure shit out, but why's it gotta be, like, one person?"

"Very good questions," Jane said. She folded her arms across her chest, glancing sideways at me. "You wouldn't happen to have any insight, darling?"

I squinted back at her. "I'm not sure yet," I answered truthfully. "But... we know more about the way the semester is scripted. Because of the information we all got, right?"

* * *

 _FINAL EXAM INFORMATION: Packets of personal information meant to be discovered by us after the fifth murder, but which instead were released to Juliet early. Most of these packets seem to involve us being betrayed by a person, institution, or ideology we had previously fully trusted. Juliet softened the impact of each one with mitigating information._

* * *

"Uh, but that didn't end up doing shit," Rocky argued. "I mean... right? When you told me about mine, I was kinda mad, but it wasn't a big deal or anything."

"Yes, but things could have been different," I replied. "And they were supposed to be. ...Right, Monokuma?"

"Right!" the bear snapped. We were all a little taken aback by his quick agreement, but he just shrugged. "I will obey legitimate authority, but nobody can keep me from getting mad when there's deviations from protocol! I don't care why!"

Jane raised an eyebrow. "Hm, my trust in the veracity of all this just went down several levels. But if we were to take it at face value, then our secrets were leaked to Juliet early, by a mastermind who's gone off-script. We were supposed to find just the shocking parts much later."

"Last night, in fact," I said. "We were supposed to find them, and then almost immediately get thrown right into this trial."

"Hm." Katy nodded seriously; she had almost certainly put together this whole part. "And... speaking of which, we know how the trial's supposed to end, right? We heard it."

* * *

 _TRIAL RECORDING: We were given a recording which apparently consists of the end of the Final Exam for a previous class. One of the students was identified as the mastermind and seemingly executed by the surviving students. Two of the voices were electronically altered, presumably because we would otherwise recognize them._

* * *

"Whoa, wait," Rocky said. "That's... like... wait. That can't be how things are supposed to go, right? Because they kill the mastermind! The mastermind sets themselves up to get killed?"

"And you're forgetting something else," Jane added, glaring at Katy. "The recording clearly states the mastermind is working with Dr. Alameda, and that Alameda is still alive!"

* * *

 _This new voice was electronically altered, impossible to tell anything about the speaker. "There's no one else it could be! You're the mastermind, you're the one working with Dr. Alameda!"_

* * *

 _There was a huge clamor, voices all talking over one another. The voice-altered speaker somehow talked through it, getting everyone's attention despite their shock. "I know! I know how it sounds. But we have to. Because we never found Alameda himself, and there's more like..." censor tone "...out there."_

* * *

"Therefore, this recording must have happened before Alameda died!"

"Hm," I said, rubbing my chin in thought. "I actually would have agreed with you, but luckily, Katy knew something I didn't."

Katy whipped her head over to me in surprise. "Uh! What?" I noticed both she and Jane looked pretty bothered by the idea that Katy knew something important.

"About the video, remember? You recognized one of the voices."

"Oh, yes!" She nodded eagerly. "Right. Well, one of those voices was someone I've heard talking before. He has a pretty distinctive voice."

* * *

 _"That's Rufio Johns," Katy said. "I'm certain of it."_

 _"Uh, who?"_

 _"He makes videos. He, uh..." She blushed slightly. "He does nail art. Really, really popular."_

* * *

"Oh!" Rodrigo exclaimed. "You are correct, Friend Katy! That voice did clearly belong to Sir Rufio Johns."

There was a very strange pause while we all just stared at him. "Um, how do you know what a youtube nail art guy's voice sounds like?"

"I heard him speak on the aeroplane!" Rodrigo defended, looking confused about our confusion. "My seatmate was a twelve year-old who was quite enthusiastic about telling me of the political wars of the handheld faces she was showing me." He shrugged. "I have no interest in vanity, so the beauty tips were meaningless. But the drama was fascinating."

"Humf," Jane grunted, obviously wanting to change the subject. "You're certain? Because I know the Ultimate Nail Artist graduated two years ago, and I certainly hope there's not two of them among the vaunted alumni."

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure," Katy replied. "So yeah, this means that video was recorded two years ago. Which is after Alameda died."

"But that doesn't make sense!" Rocky interrupted. "Because the whole thing about the final exam is you search the administration building, right? And Alameda's dead body is just sitting there!"

"That's true," Jane agreed. "Even without the information telling us the corpse's identity, we would have known something had gone wrong." She paused in thought. "Ah! I see." She nodded smartly and pointed at Monokuma. "It's perplexing why anyone would design an AI that performs slips of the tongue, but in this case, I'm glad of it. Because remember what he said earlier?"

* * *

 _"I'm supposed to tell you to pay special attention to the two... I mean, the_ _three_ _offices that are open."_

* * *

"In previous years, the classes never find his body." She smirked. "It's a bit delightfully chilling to imagine them dutifully searching, unaware of the dead man rotting away behind one of the locked doors."

"Yo, real talk though?" Rocky mused. "It's pretty fucking weird someone just left his body sitting there."

"You're right, and let's remember that for later," I said, nodding gratefully to him. "But the point we were on is about the recording from two years ago. Because Alameda was long dead already, we know whoever said he's not was lying. And since that person's voice was disguised..."

* * *

 _The voice-altered speaker somehow talked through it, getting everyone's attention despite their shock. "I know! I know how it sounds. But we have to. Because we never found Alameda himself, and there's more like..." censor tone "...out there."_

* * *

"...then it's reasonable to assume that person speaking is... the mastermind." I looked around at everyone, gauging their reactions. "Especially when you remember how this person is so vocal about keeping the program running."

"Um, there's a fairly obvious hole in your theory, darling," Jane pointed out. "In that same recording, we hear the mastermind getting executed."

"Indeed!" Rodrigo agreed. "And even though the graduates agree to let the program continue, they are certainly not on the side of Eugene Alameda! In fact, they're more dedicated than ever to fight him and all he stands for!"

I started to reply, but Katy's moan cut me off. "Ohhhh." I looked at her with some alarm, but she was just holding her head in her hands. "Oh, of course."

"Um," Rocky said. "Of course what?"

Katy sighed. "I thought Nicole was right, that this place was just made us to turn us into cogs. But it never made any sense to me how that was supposed to work. They want us to, like, support the government and old people's values, and they do it by having the government and old people force us into the most horrible experience ever?"

"Hmm," Rodrigo said, clasping his hands behind his back thoughtfully. "You are correct, Friend Katy, it seems implausible that would have the desired effect."

"Yo, maybe it's just a stupid idea and it doesn't work?" Rocky suggested.

"No, that can't be true," I argued. "Because every single alumnus has stayed quiet about it. This place is doing _something_. We just have to consider that it's not meant to accomplish the same goal it had when Alameda first designed it."

Katy nodded. "It's supposed to do the opposite. Those graduates we heard in the recording _were_ brainwashed, because they were completely committed to fighting people like Alameda, and _that was the goal all along_."

There was a pause as we considered that. Of course, it's what I was suspecting, but actually hearing it all beginning to get spelled out clearly was unsettling and eerie, somehow. Or maybe I was just anxious because I knew I was going to have to spill the beans about my secret, soon.

"I... don't get it," Rocky admitted, scratching his head. "Alameda wanted people fighting... himself?"

"Alameda's _dead_ , darling," Jane reminded him. "Someone has been running the game for the past six years: the mastermind. And I do agree it seems likely that the mastermind designed this whole thing as a reaction against what it was originally made to do."

"Yo, but how?" Rocky protested. "How do they know how people are gonna react? It's a killing game. Anything can happen!"

"Ah, remember the evidence we discussed earlier!" Rodrigo stated. "Some parts are carefully planned out! The mastermind makes sure that certain 'roles' are always in play!"

"And that's probably why the mastermind is a participant, even though it puts them in danger," Katy said. "They can push everyone in the direction they want."

Rocky shrugged. "Still doesn't make any sense to me. That recording ended with someone getting executed, and, like, every single person was sure they were the bad guy. No one could plan that out so perfectly, especially over and over again!"

"Well..." I spoke up. This was it. "Yeah... I think they could. Because... I was the one person who was supposed to get executed at the end of this trial. You were all being set up to think I was the mastermind."

Everyone gaped at me, Katy hugging herself with what looked like sympathy. "Friend Saya!" Rodrigo yelped. "What is this madness you're saying?! We would never suspect you; you were our savior time and time again!"

"Yeah," Jane added, looking kind of queasy. "And... you already have a role, right? The 'detective.' Someone else must be the fake mastermind."

I shook my head. "No, because that's the whole point. The detective and the fake mastermind _are the same role_. Remember the recording?"

* * *

 _"God..." a man's voice said." Censor tone "wasn't the only one? We trusted her. She saved us every time there was a murder. If even she could betray us..."_

* * *

"But how do you know?" Jane argued. She seemed to be getting a little upset. "You can't possibly be certain. You're the one we trust the most!"

"Oh, shit," Rocky said, turning white. "Yeah. Yeah, she is the one we trust the most. Which means, if I really did think she was the bad guy, it'd totally wreck me." He shuddered. "Can you imagine? I'd be, like, madder than I've ever been at anyone. And I've been pretty fucking mad."

"No," Jane insisted, putting her hands on her hips. "I don't believe it. Saya's just speculating."

"Well..." I said, shyly averting my gaze from everyone. "I kinda know this for certain, because I got some evidence I never told you."

"Whoa, what?" Rocky exclaimed. "That's pretty sketchy, dude."

"I think you'll get it once I tell you what it was!" I said quickly. "I'm sorry I hid something important from everyone, but I didn't know what to do!"

"Hmmpf," Jane muttered, giving me a sideways glance. "Well, go on, then. Tell us what this mysterious new evidence is."

My throat was tightening up from anxiety, but I barreled through. "Um, well, did everyone see those files in the big office, all about Major Kindschwall?" At their nods, I gave a nervous and hopefully endearing smile. "That was the information I got from Juliet. One of those files, but... about me."

* * *

 _SAYA'S MEMO: An internal memo supposedly between people running the killing game. It exposes Saya as one the daughter of one of the higher-ups behind this program, and that she has been placed among the rest of the students as the mastermind. This was supposed to be found in the lead-up to the final exam, but the mastermind, for unknown reasons, released it to Juliet early._

* * *

"Exploring tonight, you were all supposed to find a file exposing me as the mastermind."

There was a silence as they all took that in. I noticed they all looked kind of angry, and I hoped against hope that's because we really somehow were all on the same team.

"Think about it," Katy said. "Jane, you'd have gotten that thing about your parents tonight. Rocky? That thing about New York. Think about how you'd feel if Juliet hadn't added more. And then you also find a thing proving Saya was a traitor?"

Jane took a deep breath, nodding slowly. "Looking back, I do remember suspicious things about those Kindschwall memos. They all found a way to state or suggest the person's name and talent... because they were specifically written to implicate someone."

"Mine talked about 'Wild' being an implausible fake name," I remarked. "Which... it's no 'Mountebank,' but fair enough, I guess."

"Yeah, speaking of that... 'Kindschwall?'" Katy looked up at Monokuma, raising an eyebrow. "Was that some kind of stupid joke?" Monokuma tilted his head at her uncomprehendingly.

"Joke?" Rocky asked. "Uh... what do you mean?"

"Well... Kindschwall. It's..." She rolled her eyes. "It means 'child flood.' You know? 'Child spate.'"

I blinked at her. I always hated foreign language classes in school. "Uh, yeah? It's kinda weird, but why's it a joke?"

"Saya." She glared up at Monokuma, then looked back down to me. "It basically translates to 'baby boom.'"

"Oh, for..." Jane pinched the bridge of her nose. "Ugh. It's mockery. The mastermind puts it there, staring us in the face."

Rodrigo glowered down at his lectern. "Does this suggest Friend Earl was never to have survived to the exam?" he asked. "He would certainly have known the meaning of the word."

"Uh, I don't think they had a baby boom in Germany like we did here," Katy answered. "So he probably wouldn't know it was a thing. The only people who might notice are Americans who speak German, which is... um. Just me, I think." She stared off into space a moment. "I wasn't supposed to make it this far," she said, very matter-of-factly, although clearly just thinking it for the first time.

"That's at least two of us," I said. We made the briefest of eye contact, but it was long enough to share a soft, frightened smile.

"Yo, no fuckin' way I was supposed to make it!" Rocky said, almost jovially. "I bet they brought me in, like, exactly just to go nuts and murder someone! And I woulda, if it hadn't been for Roddy and the rest of you."

"I feel I may be in the same boat," Rodrigo said. "I am confused by this world and naive in its ways. Had I not been welcomed, I surely would have been lost."

"Yes yes, all of you would have died by now, I'm sure," Jane grunted, annoyed. "The important thing is, those of us who _were_ always to be survivors would have been put through well-oiled machine to change our thinking!"

She crossed her arms over her chest, directing a challenging look at Monokuma. "Through this 'Cassandra,' you drop hints from the beginning about the nefarious intent behind this program, and the fact that it's endorsed by the government."

"Plus," Katy added, "you make that Cassandra someone we don't believe at first, and someone obviously vulnerable, so they probably get murdered. We can only think about their warnings later, when we're already guilty and scared."

Jane showed no irritation at being interrupted; she just jumped back in. "And you make us live through days of carnage, where we're forced to dole out a cruel, violent parody of established legal institutions, making us doubt our ability to know what's fair or just."

"Yo, and the whole thing is coming from some murdertoy acting like the worst boomer ever," Rocky added.

"And at the end," Jane concluded, "You shock and befuddle us with personal secrets, and then immediately allow us to 'discover' our trusted leader is the mastermind. Destroy our trust in everything, exploit our anger and confusion, and bam. A bunch of true believers dedicated to taking down an establishment that hurt them so dearly." She laughed dryly. "Isn't it just like Nicole, to have been so right and so wrong at the same time?"

Monokuma gazed down at us blankly. "...Is this your official answer to Question 3, 'What is the purpose of this program?'"

"No!" I jumped in quickly. "Uh, I think we're correct about the way it's usually supposed to go, but we have to ask why we even know all this. The mastermind didn't follow the typical plan. They wrecked it!" I paused for a moment. "Well... it's more like, they let _Juliet_ wreck it. But that's even more confusing."

"So do we gotta talk about who the mastermind is?" Rocky asked. He glanced around the circle hesitantly. "I was... kinda hoping to put that off as long as we could."

"I believe we are all strong enough to face the truth," Rodrigo said, giving him a supportive grin. "No matter how difficult, these mysteries must be unraveled."

"If it helps, let's address the question of the mastermind from a different angle," Jane announced. "The murder."

"Uh... the murder?" Katy asked, looking confused. "You mean, Alameda's? Why should we talk about that now?"

"Why, because it's obvious the mastermind killed him!" Jane replied, grinning slyly. She listed off evidence, holding up a finger with each clue. "They took over from him after he died. They even took over his email address."

* * *

 _Katy leaned closer to the screen. "Just three emails, all from 'eugene dash alameda at nhu dot edu.' "_

* * *

"His murderer was in the admin building at least long enough to write a note about it and tape it up to the door, like a weirdo."

* * *

 _This is my confession._

 _He's dead. I killed him._

 _I wanted to trust him. So badly. I was going to give him a chance to explain how this was a mistake. But when he saw me, he just asked how I was here._

 _The rest is just a blur. He's dead now._

* * *

"A note which was clearly written by someone intimately involved with the workings of the program. It doesn't take a detective to recognize such distinctive writing."

* * *

 _I nodded, leaning forward and looking closer at the note. I couldn't tell, but it seemed to be the same handwriting as the final note in the computer room: it was the same large, clear, confident script._

* * *

"And..." She paused. "Well. There's another reason, but let's get to it in a moment. I don't want to brag about having figured it out until it's been properly set up."

"Uh... okay," I said, deciding to just let Jane do her weird Jane thing without comment. "Um. I think it's pretty obvious how the murder occurred, right?"

* * *

 _Despite my general hard rule against speculating, this made too much sense to ignore. He was zapped, then tied up, then had the sub forced down his throat until he choked_.

* * *

"The stun gun was used to incapacitate him, and then tied up. It couldn't have been a suicide or accident, because his arms were tied to the chair."

"Ugh," Rocky commented. "What a weird, gross way to kill someone. Stuffing a sub down his throat?"

Jane giggled lightly. "I'd accuse the murderer of having Freudian motivations, if only Freud wasn't a discredited lunatic."

"I find much about this killing to be bizarre," Rodrigo mused. "Why was he incapacitated and then tied up? Why did the killer not simply drop a heavy object on him while he was stunned?"

"I think the confession note tells us that," I answered. "The killer didn't want him dead, at first. They tied him up so they could talk to him."

"Which is weird, in and of itself!" Katy exclaimed.

"I believe we must conclude that the killer and Dr. Alameda had a close relationship." Rodrigo crossed his arms, staring forward grimly. "Their crime was passionate and cruel, suggesting deep emotions."

"Uh, I got pretty deep emotions towards this asshole myself," Rocky pointed out.

"Yes, but would you also be willing to 'give him a chance to explain?' The combination of deep rage along with hope for his good intentions suggests something very personal. Perhaps..." Rodrigo's jaw clenched; he looked terrifying. "I almost cannot bring myself to suggest such an awful explanation. But perhaps this is a case... of patricide."

"No shit it was a case of patricide!" Jane snapped. "C'mon, we all knew that, right? Alameda was killed by his own child!"

Katy nodded softly but looked hesitant. "I think you're right, but how can we be sure?"

"I'm not sure we can be completely sure," I answered, "but it makes a lot of sense. The document we found in the smallest office tells us a lot."

* * *

 _TO: Dr. Alameda  
_ _SUBJ: Your child  
_ _The upcoming semester is almost upon us, and before it's too late, I'd like to address some concerns about the inclusion of your child in the new class of Ultimates._

* * *

"We know that Alameda put his own kid into the game, and he did not seem very bothered about it."

* * *

 _On a related matter, I must raise a serious concern. In discussing this, you said "These fucking brats are all the same. All of them, with no exceptions. Let them all burn."_

* * *

"Indeed," Jane agreed. "And that document tells us two important things. First, it suggests how the mastermind was able to take over an entire government-funded project from just murdering a single person. Everyone but Alameda was gone."

* * *

 _We refuse to be a part of a program conducted with malice, and we will leave if you do not explain your comment. All of us. Of course, we will abide by our non-disclosure forms, but you would have to run the entire semester just with Monokuma and yourself. All of us hope to avoid this unfortunate outcome._

* * *

"And, the format of the letter looks quite familiar, doesn't it? Especially the beginning."

* * *

 _TO: Maj. Kindschwall  
_ _SUBJ: Your son  
Sir,  
The upcoming semester is almost upon us, and before it's too late, I'd like to address some concerns about the inclusion of your son in the new class of Ultimates._

* * *

"And this is the last piece of evidence suggesting the mastermind and Alameda's murderer are the same person," she finished smugly. "They based their plan to brainwash others on _their own experience_. The idea of a student who's the offspring of someone in charge. The brutal, sudden revelation that what you'd wholly trusted was a lie. The moment where you thought you were chosen and special and the world was your oyster, but you find out whole institutions are dedicated to wrecking you."

"So... the mastermind started out on Alameda's side and then switched?" Katy sighed. "Yeah. I guess that whole thing would be pretty radicalizing, huh?"

"Ohhh." Rocky nodded enthusiastically. "And that's what the confession means when it says "explain how this was a mistake," right? They didn't want to accept he'd fucked them over, until they finally got pushed over the edge."

"Um, but that's the part I don't get," Katy said. "The confession says they wanted him to explain how this was a mistake, but then they get super angry when he 'asked how I was here.' That's... weird, right? Because if Alameda was confused about them being there, that _does_ sound like a mistake."

I nodded, scrunching my forehead in confusion. "You're right, I noticed that 'asked how I was here' part stuck out for me, too. What could it mean? Why would that, of all things, set them off?"

"Darling," Jane said suddenly and starkly. "You're doing that thing you do."

"Oh, yeah," Katy agreed. "You totally are."

I blinked. "...What? What am I doing?"

"You're pretending not to have figured something out."

"Oh yeah!" Rocky said. "That Saya mind game thing!"

"Uh." I felt myself going pale and took an involuntary half-step back. "It's... not a mind game..."

"Mmm-hmm." Jane did not sound convinced. "But. You _have_ figured out what that part of the confession means, right?"

"No! I mean... maybe?"

"I promised Lucina I'd call you out if I saw you doing that," Katy stated firmly. "So stop it. Just tell us."

I sighed, feeling more embarrassed than anything else. "Uh. Right. Okay." I tried to recenter, looking at the floor to avoid eye contact. "But let's get the background set, okay? So, let's say we're right. Alameda's killer is his child, they were recruited here six and a half years ago. They escaped from their killing game into the admin building, where they confronted him. And after killing him, they took over."

Rodrigo considered that. "Ay. I believe that's what we're thinking."

"Okay. So, Katy was correct. If 'how I was here' refers to the game itself, then it doesn't make sense that would enrage the killer. So maybe 'here' isn't the whole campus. Maybe 'here' means _in the administration building_."

"Oh," Katy said. "Okay. Yeah. He was literally asking how the killer got there. Like, how they managed it." She frowned. "But still, why would that make them so mad at him?"

"Well, let's think about how they actually did it," I said. "Monokuma told us there's basically two parts of this campus, both stretching across the whole thing. There's the 'student side,' where we've been this whole game. And there's the 'admin side,' where Monokuma is, and where Alameda was."

* * *

 _"There's a whole network!" he answered, almost proudly. "Tunnels and hallways and tubes, running all through campus! There's elevators like this one in a couple of different buildings!"_

 _"So when you revealed this elevator, you also revealed elevators in... say, the science building?" Katy asked. "The whole campus has a part for the students, and then a whole other part for you?"_

* * *

"We glimpsed this 'admin side' before, thanks to Rocky," I pointed out. "He opened up that secret door in the ROTC."

* * *

 _We gathered around. There was a rectangular hole, about the size of small TV screen. It led to a sloping, smooth chute that appeared to open up into a larger, lit-up space; I could make out a concrete floor, a white wall, and the edge of something metal and cube-shaped with a single, green light on it._

 _"When the trash can hit that spot, it just... opened up," Rocky explained._

 _"What the hell is down there?" Nicole asked. "This building doesn't have a basement, right?"_

 _"No," Barrett answered. "That ain't..."_

 _"Wait, shh!" Rodrigo hissed quickly. Barrett glared, but we all complied; we huddled in silence around the open hole. I wasn't sure what Rodrigo meant, but after a few moments, I could hear it, coming from the space down below._

 _It was clearly Monokuma's voice, quiet but getting louder. He seemed to be... singing._

* * *

"Oh, those Monokuma tubes," Rocky said. "Right, those are how he pops up out of nowhere all the time, right?"

"Yeah. They're all over campus, and they connect the student side to the admin side. But it's unlikely the mastermind used those. I know I certainly wouldn't be able to."

* * *

 _I examined the panel. My head would fit through, but it was too small for my shoulders to make it; Monokuma would be a tight fit, but if he was squishy, he'd go through easily._

* * *

"Hmmf, okay," Jane sniffed. "What were the other potential methods?"

"Well, we saw one, right?" Rocky pointed out. "That remote control Monokuma had."

* * *

 _I realized, for the first time, he was holding a small remote control in his paw. He whapped his other paw down on it, and immediately there was a nearly deafening clamor coming from outside: screaming gears and clanking machinery. After nearly a full minute, it ended._

* * *

"Yeah, but that opens things up all over campus, and it's really loud. I don't Alameda would be surprised if someone managed to use it."

* * *

 _"It's kind of a big production," I remarked. "It's really loud and takes forever, and it moves walls around. If it happens all over campus, there'd be no way to do it without everyone knowing."_

* * *

Katy nodded. "And the third way was the trial elevator, right?"

* * *

 _"Uhhhh..." Monokuma piped up. "There's also_ _technically_ _the trial elevator, out in the main quad."_

 _"Hmm. The courtroom is 'your' space?"_

 _"Of course! I'm working practically nonstop to make those personalized executions, after all! But_ _that_ _elevator only opens up when I'm in trial mode. Every other time?" He held up his remote proudly. "This is the only way you'd be able to get through from one side to the other!"_

* * *

"So... that must be it?" Katy frowned thoughtfully. "Wait... but Monokuma opens that up himself. Did the killer somehow convince him to let them use it?"

Despite having eyes locked in place, Monokuma somehow rolled his eyes at that. "I'd never do such a thing! The elevator is a sacred tool for trials only!"

"Yup." I shrugged. "So all three methods seem pretty implausible. And yet, Alameda's killer got through. And when I thought about that... well, that's when everything about the mastermind fell into place."

There was a pretty big clamor from that. "What?!" I heard Rocky's voice shout above the background noise. "You know who the mastermind is?!"

I just nodded.

"Who is it, who is it?" Rocky paced in place in his anxiety. "Oh god, it's not Roddy, is it? Is it?!"

"When did you figure it out?!" Katy asked, almost frantic.

"Were you thinking of ever letting us in on this secret?!" Jane barked, clutching a handful of her trench coat in distress.

"Smug kids, always thinking they know everything," Monokuma muttered.

Rodrigo just stood straight and tall, looking at me with fear but also trust. He nodded. That nod, and that look on his face, gave me the strength to take the leap.

"Alameda's killer is someone who wanted to give their father the complete benefit of the doubt, despite his cruelty."

* * *

 _"He just had high standards!" she nearly shouted. "He believes in me. It was probably abuse; I know that. But as long as he believes in me... as long as I know he did it because he thought I could be the best... I know what he was doing was right."_

* * *

"Someone whose strategy was to put on a persona that was the _opposite_ of the way they wanted us to end up, but to make it clear that persona is pretty unhappy."

* * *

 _"Well, that's the scene with the big, famous speech. Y'know, 'friends Romans countrymen?'"_

 _"Oh." I felt kind of dumb not knowing that. "I know what you're talking about, but why would it be written up there?"_

 _"I dunno," she said. "'Lend me your ears,' maybe it's a clue about ears?" She shrugged. "It's a really good speech, though. He has to convince all these people to hate Brutus, but he can't explain why directly, so he cloaks it all in saying nice things about Brutus."_

* * *

"Someone with a seemingly supernatural ability to know when someone in the room with them might be dangerous. An ability that would be explained by getting tips from Monokuma, who's always watching everything."

* * *

 _"She has a knife in the left sleeve of her jacket," she said, turning to glare at Nicole. "Don't you fucking underestimate me. I pay attention. I know if I'm alone with someone who has a weapon. Just because I'm actually smiling for the first time in my fucking life, you thought I'd be an easy target."_

 _Nicole just looked back at her for a moment then grunted in frustration. "I wasn't going to use it!" She slipped the knife out of her sleeve and held it in her hand._

* * *

"Someone who would be comfortable in that tiny office... and even who would need help sitting at the desk."

* * *

 _She led us into the computer lab; she marched to the front of the room and pulled out one of the rolling office chairs. She perched herself on top, her feet dangling over the floor._

* * *

 _I was trying to be careful, but apparently not careful enough, because I whacked my shinbone on a footstool, and when I reacted to that I bumped a stack of paper on the desk with my arm, sending it to the floor._

* * *

"Someone persuasive enough to convince dozens of very intelligent people to become radical extremists."

* * *

 _The room was eerily silent as she stopped talking. I legitimately felt like applauding. "Wow," Juliet said eventually, "that was... that was so inspiring."_

 _"Of course it was, I'm the ultimate goddamn debater!"_

* * *

"Someone small enough to fit through Monokuma's tunnels, even though most people couldn't."

* * *

 _I shrank back, despite her size. She was even shorter than I'd originally thought... maybe 4'8" or so. She was almost certainly small enough to be a dwarf, but she didn't have the body proportions of other little people I'd met; she just looked like an average young woman, except tiny._

* * *

"And, most importantly... someone who'd be driven into a rage when they realize their father doesn't even care enough to figure out how they managed to reach him... even though it was his abuse that allowed it to happen in the first place. And they'd get their revenge in the same way he hurt them: through food."

* * *

 _"Look, fine, let's just get it over with," she snapped. "My dad's a fucker. An outright psychopath. But." She crossed her arms and glared at me defensively. "He just had high hopes for me, and he wanted me to reach my potential. If he didn't think I was better than the rest of you lazy, worthless dirt, he wouldn't have done what he did. It was necessary."_

 _"What did he do?"_

 _"Just normal things!" she barked. "When I didn't measure up, I was punished!"_

 _I took a step back. "With... lack of food and sleep?"_

 _"Punishments with consequences, unlike whatever your spoiled little ass had to deal with. Growing bodies need nutrition." She glanced down at her own tiny little form. "If I'd been better..." She shook her head as if ridding it of an unpleasant thought. "...But I wasn't, so this is what I have to work with now. Consequences."_

* * *

"It adds up," I concluded. "Alameda's killer... and the mastermind who brought us here... was Ashley Coelho, the Ultimate Debater." I laughed bitterly. "Or, to use her real name... Ashley Alameda. Something suggested to us days and days ago."

* * *

 _"Uh, hi. Hey, this is Gareth McGregor, Ultimate Podcaster, NHU class of 2016 (go bear cubs). Yeah, um, I'm trying to, uh… contact A.A. for some help?"_

* * *

Everyone looked absolutely shocked, which I guess made sense. "But..." Rocky sputtered, and that was all he was able to get out.

"But..." Katy added, but she was also tongue-tied.

"But she's _dead_!" Jane finally burst out. You all saw her body with your own eyes!"

* * *

 _CLASSMATES: We clearly saw the inarguably dead bodies of Morgan, Emily, Ashley, Barrett, and Juliet._

* * *

I nodded. "Yeah. She's dead."

"So... so there's not a mastermind?! How can there not be a mastermind?!" Jane looked up at Monokuma in consternation. "Can there not be a mastermind?"

"Maybe!" he answered, unhelpfully.

"There can," I answered for him. "The... other Monokuma suggested it."

* * *

 _"Stop trying to confuse me!" he snapped. "There's only one mastermind at a time, max, and that ain't you!"_

* * *

"That... explains the Cricket, right?" Katy ventured.

* * *

 _THE CRICKET: Every surviving student denied being the mastermind in the cricket, even though it apparently worked on everyone. (We THINK that we remember every student getting flagged for a lie at least once, but we can't recall.) Bepi proved the machine could be tricked, but it's still not clear how the mastermind got away with this._

* * *

"We were all able to deny being the mastermind, because it was true. None of us _was_ the mastermind."

"There was also the note you found in the trash," I pointed out. "One that directly refers to Ashley's murder."

* * *

 _She handed over a plain piece of notebook paper, neat creases across it from having been folded. Written on it, in clear, sharp letters, was,_ _New location: V's place. Same time we planned. Bring the item._

* * *

"Earl and Ashley were set to meet, and Ashley was supposed to bring an item: the unloaded gun."

"Ohh shit!" Rocky exclaimed. "And 'V's place' is the roof of the science building, right? Where all the astronomy shit was! V stands for Voss, and Earl always called everyone by their last names!"

Rodrigo's knees buckled. "Friend Earl..." he gasped out, placing a hand against his pale forehead. "He..." He looked up helplessly. "I condemned his memory. I besmirched him as a cruel, senseless murderer. But he was not." He looked up at us in wonder. "Friend Earl deduced the identity of the mastermind. When Friend Nicole saw him just before he died, she witnessed his fury at being betrayed. But she mistook it for malice."

* * *

 _She vaguely shuddered. "I saw him and Ashley meet up. They didn't know I was there, and they talked about the plan to meet up. I think they kissed, but I couldn't see. But I looked at the end. They were facing each other, and Earl had this big smile just like always. And Ashley turned around, and... his face just changed. He had the kind of hate and cruelty and... fuck, I can't even describe it. He charmed her and then behind her back he was just filled up with murder. So no matter what, I did good getting rid of him."_

* * *

"Oh god," Katy groaned, looking queasy. "I... I even remember when he figured it out."

* * *

 _"...But Earl was acting... weird. Kind of stern and... I don't know, just weird." She shuddered slightly. "Rocky took him off to see that secret panel, and when they got back, he was all fired up about the tank. I think knowing about that passage spooked him somehow."_

* * *

"And he did throw her off the side of the building," I said. "But then when he saw us... he was trying to explain he didn't kill her because he wanted to escape. He killed her because she was the mastermind."

* * *

 _Finally, he straightened. "Comrades!" he called, strongly and loudly enough to be heard even over the roar of the fire and the alarm. "You must not let your eyes deceive you! You must trust..." He suddenly turned, looking back behind him. He took a half-step back, as if fearful. "What..."_

* * *

"And this explains something else: Why was the telescope dome padlocked? Earl was surprised to see Rodrigo, so Ashley must have locked it. And she did that because she knew Rodrigo was in there, and she didn't want to be interrupted."

"I..." Rodrigo actually looked like he was about to faint. He held tightly to his lectern, knuckles white. "There was something I never told anyone else. Something I witnessed that night. I held my tongue because I thought it was not important, and because I felt Friend Earl would not want it to be known. But now..."

He looked up around the circle, eyes haggard. "There was a space of ten minutes or so after I heard Friend Ashley's death, but before Friend Earl carried her away. And in that time... he was weeping." He took a deep, shaky breath. "I thought, 'how could a man who feels such guilt and sorrow possibly take a life?' And... now I understand. He believed it was the only way."

"And then Nicole fuckin' blows him up," Rocky growled. "If she hadn't done that, would we all be free?"

"I don't think that question actually makes sense," I said. "Because Ashley must have known that Nicole was planning to kill Earl that night. I think she was willing to meet up with Earl in such an intimate way because she knew it was her last chance."

Katy gasped. "How cruel..." But she nodded sadly. "She really liked him, I could tell. She was willing to let him get murdered, but she wanted to hook up with him, first. I want to hate how cold and brutal that is, but... she's been here for years. I can't imagine how lonely she must have been."

"Wait!" Jane suddenly yelled, startling everyone. "Wait wait wait!" She pointed off in some random direction, almost frantic. "Are you saying those security systems are just off, and we could have climbed that fence and gotten away at any time?!" She glared at Monokuma. "Or was that just a fucking lie?"

"Of course it wasn't a lie!" Monokuma snapped back. "Campus security is absolutely tied to the life of the Mastermind! Otherwise the game could just go on forever, and that's a huuuuuge waste of resources. When the mastermind dies, security shuts off."

"And the security totally works!" Rocky spoke up. "I test it, like, every other day! Big flame thrower pops out of the wall and everything."

"I saw the security system working _that night_ ," I added. "During the investigation."

* * *

 _Bepi paused for a moment. "Hmm, actually, let me try something." He took his shoe off and then hurled it at the fence at the edge of the quad. A scary-looking machine-gun popped out in response, then receded. "Shit. Yeah, I guess all the machines around here still work._

* * *

"So this is all wrong!" Jane argued. "Ashley couldn't have been the mastermind!"

"Well... I think I actually have an explanation for this," I defended. I glanced up at the bear. "Am I correct that vocal commands don't work during trials? If someone says a command, you'll ignore it?"

"I can't see why that sort of thing is any of your business," Monokuma answered cagily, "but no. The trial grounds are like any other!"

"Huh." I frowned, doubting my entire theory for a moment, but then I decided to keep going. "But I _gave_ a command earlier. When we first came in. Why didn't it work?"

"Oh, well it won't work _now_ ," he answered breezily. "Vocal commands have been turned off since early this morning. Really, your generation is so nosy..."

I nodded smartly. "Okay. Then yeah, I'm pretty sure about how things went down. Ashley had a contingency plan."

"A... contingency?" Rodrigo still looked shocked by the Earl thing. "To keep us here even after her death? Using a... vocal command?"

"You mean, those things written up on the wall in the server room?" Katy asked.

* * *

 _Hey mastermind, I updated the software to allow for basic voice commands now! It was a little tricky, because I had to work within the confines of the doc's original program, but I figured it out. You can use any command anywhere on campus, as long as at least two (2) of the recording microphones pick up your voice! Just speak loudly and clearly, and your command should be registered no matter where on campus you are!  
Note: All command words must be spoken IN THE CORRECT ORDER and WITHIN A TWENTY SECOND TIME SPAN._

* * *

"But the code words only work for the mastermind, right?" Katy asked.

I shook my head. "No. Remember what the bearded Monokuma said?"

* * *

 _"Oh, stop it," he snapped. "I toldja, it ain't gonna work! You don't know the secret, 'cause you're not the mastermind!"_

* * *

"You have to know 'the secret.'"

"Well, something is certainly odd," Jane remarked. "Those instructions make no sense. The commands were single words: 'ignore' or 'abort.' How can you say a single word 'in the correct order?'"

"You can't," Katy agreed, then paused. "Oh. Unless... you're spelling it."

"Is this..." Rocky smacked himself in the head. "Oh shit, of course. The clue we never used! The clue we never used!"

"Ugh, calm down!" Jane snapped. "What are you blathering about?"

"He means the note that Bepi found on Ashley's body," I answered. "The 'Dear Romeo' letter."

"I don't have the faintest idea what you're talking about.":

"Grrph." I tried to ignore my irritation with her and press on. "Bepi found a piece of paper on Ashley's body and read it out loud. It sounded like nonsense, but there was a secret in there."

* * *

 _Bepi looked back at the paper, rubbing his temples in confusion. "Okay, it's... 'Dear_ _ **Romeo**_ _, Do you remember the time you saw me and you told me that life is just an_ _ **echo**_ _? I remember. It was snowing, and we lay together on the sofa under our favorite quilt, and we watched Treasure of the_ _ **Sierra**_ _Madre. You finished the bottle of Merlot, and you stood up and stretched and you told me straight out: 'Life is just an_ _ **echo**_ _.' We were alone, but not alone. The future and the past dance a cruel_ _ **tango**_ _, and my hopes will never be free from my cruel memories."_

* * *

"It uses the NATO alphabet... the one in the codebook from the radio room in the admin building. And it spells one of the command words: RESET." I gasped. "Oh, that's why the bearded Monokuma asked us that weird question, Katy! Remember?"

* * *

 _"What's the deal with you kids this semester and the letter J?"_

* * *

"He's always listening for NATO code, and so of course we said the letter J unusually often, because the NATO code for J is Juliet!"

"Oh my god..." Jane murmured, looking shaken. "We were safe. No security, nothing stopping us from just leaving. Until soldierboy read that note out loud... and reset the system."

"And that's why Monokuma was all fucked up for a while, too!" Rocky added. "He didn't know what was going on!"

* * *

 _Then he suddenly froze. He shivered for a moment and then turned to us, clasping his hands behind his back with a gentle and serious expression. "Greetings, investors and donors!" he announced. "My name is Monokuma. That's Japanese for "Monobear!" Or Greek for "One Kuma!"_

 _He seemed to finally notice where he was, and he jumped in surprise. "Holy shit, a dead body!"_

 _"I'm fine," Monokuma said. "I know what's going on. I'm... wait." He rubbed his temples as if suffering from a headache. "What?"_

* * *

"We assumed it was from Barrett's fire," I said. "But that can't be, because Monokuma's servers are in our dorm, which is nowhere near the ROTC."

* * *

 _"Oh! Well, now." He rocked back and forth a few times. "That's a complicated question, iffn you want to know the truth! I'm part of him. He's kind of all around us, and so am I!" He gestured to the panels around him._

 _"Oh..." I said, rubbing my chin in thought. "Are these the computers Monokuma runs on?"_

 _"Yep! We're not as fast as the A.I. those yankee traitors got up at MIT, but we're more efficient! Their servers take up twice as much room!" He cackled._

* * *

I glowered. "This is so stupid," I remarked, sighing helplessly, "but of everything, I'm maddest at Ashley about this. Bepi cared about her, and..." I paused, realizing I was clenching a fist in anger, and tried to relax. "I mean, she wouldn't know Bepi of all people would find her letter. But he was really her friend, and to make him the instrument for the game continuing, it's just..." I ran out of words and just scowled. "It's awful."

There was a pause as we all took in everything we'd just discussed. "So... that's the 'secret of the mastermind?'" Rocky ventured. "There _isn't_ one?"

"Uh, no," Katy said hesitantly. "I... haven't been sure what to think of all this, but there is a mastermind. I'm positive. I talked to them!"

* * *

 _"Hm?" Missy Elliott glanced at herself. "Aw, shit. I was hoping to change this. Sorry about the avatar. It's me! the mastermind!"_

* * *

"Holy shit, Missy!?" Rocky seemed more interested in this than almost anything else we'd talked about.

"Yes," Rodrigo said, hands clasped behind his back. "And someone was behind giving Juliet our information before we were intended to receive it."

"Oh." Katy took a deep, shuddery breath. "So. The secret of the mastermind isn't that there isn't one. The secret of the mastermind is _there have been two_. That's why the semester suddenly started going in a way Monokuma didn't like: someone new was in charge!"

"Psh," Rocky snorted. "I shoulda picked up on this just from the music! Remember what Monokuma said?"

* * *

 _"Holy shit," Rocky said. "Are you listening to Destiny's Child? Throwback!"_

 _"Well, I have to!" the bear snapped, ignoring me. "We can't listen to it in the lab anymore! What else am I supposed to do?"_

* * *

"He said Destiny's Child had been banned! But in the emails..."

* * *

 _Fine, I won't play Fergalicious. But Destiny's Child falls under the Beyonce banner, and nobody can deny Beyonce._

...

 _I can't help it. He sings what he hears. It's how he's programmed. And I'm not changing my music tastes. You can always leave._

* * *

"...the mastermind said they loved Beyonce and refused to change their mind about music!" He paused thoughtfully. "Huh, Ashley liked good shit."

"Whoa, whoa," Jane argued. "Let's take a step back here. How do we even know this is possible? Can someone just flip a switch and make themselves the mastermind?"

"Yeah." I rolled my eyes. "It's fucking stupid, but they can."

* * *

 _"Am_ _I_ _the mastermind?" Katy asked._

 _"Well, I dunno!" he answered sarcastically. "Didja register as the mastermind in the special Mastermind Room?"_

* * *

"If someone could get in there and knew how to do it, then apparently they can become the mastermind."

"So... it's not over," Katy said. "One of us... is the new mastermind. One of us took over."

No one said anything.

"Okayyyyy..." Rocky offered. "So... we're right back where we started?"

"No," Jane snapped. "We know some things. Because it appears obvious the new mastermind has to be the holdover. That's the only person besides Ashley herself who would know how to control the system well enough."

"Yes." Rodrigo glowered at the floor, either angry or sad. "And given the relationship suggested in the magic computer messages, it seems plausible the holdover would want to do things differently. They appeared... ambivalent towards Ashley."

"Um, can I... say something?" Katy raised her hand hesitantly as if she wanted to talk in class. "This is... okay, something is weird, here. Because I totally agree the new mastermind was the holdover, but I still don't get it! We settled on Ashley as the mastermind partly because she was able to get to the admin section while a game was running, right? But in order to take over, one of _us_ would have to get over to the admin section, because that's where the Mastermind Room was."

"Mm, you're right." Rodrigo frowned. "But none of us could. At least... in any way we can figure out."

"Maybe it will help to determine when it happened," Jane offered. "Because it must have been after we were all in the Cricket, but before Juliet got all our secret information." She cast a skeptical eye up to Monokuma. "...Assuming the Cricket really does work on the Mastermind."

"Oh, of course it does, those are two entirely different systems!" he snapped. "Why aren't you talking about the evil Major Kindschwall!"

"So... how could we do it?" Jane asked the room. "We couldn't take Ashley's path; none of us are small enough."

"Maybe Ashley didn't really die?" Rocky offered, but Jane rolled her eyes.

"Oh please, think about it for a moment. Several people clearly saw her dead body, and the new mastermind began completely undercutting her typical protocol."

"Perhaps..." The color drained from Rodrigo's face. "Perhaps... Friend Earl didn't really die."

I goggled my eyes at him. "That seems... unlikely."

"We never did see a body..." Jane mused.

"And Friend Katy found his note! Do you recall? In the large office!"

"But Ashley would have had that last!" Katy pointed out. "Earl wrote it, but it was _for_ Ashley." She shuddered. "I think... I think Ashley really did fake her death somehow. Because how else could Earl's note have gotten there?"

And so. That's when I figured it out.

The events of that night reconfigured themselves into an entirely new array, the cruelest and saddest picture I could even imagine. It was decimating. I felt like I was bleeding, cut by pure horror.

I was still breathing, though. I was still alive. I wasn't cold and empty like I got during trials, but I wasn't shy and vague and scared like I was the rest of the time. I was both. It was like the world was suddenly in color.

"Saya?" I realized everyone had been talking, and they were waiting on me to say something. I looked around them blankly as all of them, all four of them, stared back with honest concern.

I looked up at Monokuma. "I have a proposal," I said. "Let us go."

He laughed. Not his typical evil laugh, something more manic. "Let you go?! This is a killing game!"

"Let us go, and we can stop all this right now," I said firmly. "No solved mysteries, no exposed mastermind. We all just... stop."

"Just like a spoiled brat of your generation!" he cackled. "Asking for coddling and mercy when things get hard!"

"I'm not asking for coddling," I replied. "I'm offering you a draw."

That caused him to fall silent for a few seconds, but eventually he shook his head. "No draws in killing games!"

"All right."

"...Friend Saya?" Rodrigo's voice was anxious, but he was standing firm. "Does... does this mean you know who the new Mastermind is?"

"Yeah." I felt hollow but somehow also strong. "Yeah, I know."

Again, everyone kind of freaked out. But I was confident. In chess, if you lose your queen, you can't ever get her back. Unless... one of your pawns makes it all the way to the other side.

I just looked up at the ceiling, trying to find a camera or something. I couldn't find any, so I just directed my plea to the air, hoping it'd be heard.

"Bepi?" I murmured. "It's over. Please come out."

* * *

He did. And when it happened, it was almost hilarious in how anticlimactic it felt. Just a door at the side of the room opened up, and he walked through, shotgun resting casually on his shoulder.

He walked to his space in the circle as we all stared at him. He'd gotten himself a new baseball cap to replace the one that had been blown off. He looked good.

"Cadets," he greeted.


	47. Have a great vacation!

_**Name: ?  
Talent: Ultimate Wordsmith  
Queen**_

 _Q: If your life was a story, what genre would it be?  
?: Life's not a story.  
Q: Yes, but if it was, what genre would it be? ...Did you hear me? ...Are you refusing to answer, or...  
?: They feared him. They spread legends about him.  
Q: Um...  
?: But beneath it all, he was just a man. He lived as a mystery, cloaked in shadows. "I work alone!" He thought he didn't need anyone. "When people get close to me, they get hurt." But that was until he met... Francesca. "You mean I have to go undercover as... a nanny?!" Record scratch! Okay, now this is where "Who Let the Dogs Out" starts playing...  
Q: I have a feeling you aren't taking this very seriously._

* * *

 _We all agreed, we'd just go to some nearby hotel for the night. The mastermind had sent convincingly boring emails to our parents are regular intervals, so none of them were worried. But Ashley still wanted to be present for everyone's first phone call home. "Just to make sure," she'd said, somehow making it not sound like the threat it obviously was._

 _She didn't have shit to worry about, judging by the looks on these kids' faces. They were true believers now. Most of them were probably just waiting for the right cause to throw themselves into, but none had hit home yet. This one hit home._

 _I sat in the big, soft chair in the corner of the lobby, looking down at my Irish coffee, feeling the weird heat seeping through the glass. It was awful coffee but good whiskey. Or the other way around. It didn't matter._

 _The lobby itself was totally deserted except for me, and the bar was pretty dead, too. I think I'd have felt the eerie stillness even if I hadn't just survived a murder game. I wasn't on edge or vigilant, I was just kind of placid. It was a big, bright room, full of local maps and plugs to charge your phone and lists of taxi companies, but this late at night, it just felt dead, like the inside of an ancient, sealed-up pyramid. One of those was an illusion, but I wasn't sure which._

 _I wasn't so lost in thought that I didn't see her step out of the elevator. She was clearly looking for me, and as she noticed me and approached, her face forced itself from irritation to friendly irritation. She nodded in greeting, then stiffly sat down in the chair next to me._

 _"Couldn't sleep?" I asked._

 _"I told you, I don't sleep much," she replied sharply. Then, remembering she was supposed to be nice right now, she shot me an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry."_

 _"Mm." I indicated the elevator with my drink. "Everyone else is out like a light."_

 _"Yeah. Big day."_

 _"But not you, though."_

 _"No. I don't sleep much."_

 _"Right." I took a sip. There was a silence._

 _"Why do you think they do it?" she asked, not a single whisper of credible vulnerability in her tone._

 _"Who?"_

 _"Alameda. And Jordan. And all the people who gave money and said okay." I didn't believe her feigned vulnerability, but I did believe her anger. "All the people who hate young people so much, they'd do this."_

 _I took a sip of my drink. "Does it matter?"_

 _"Does it m... does it matter?!" She glared at me, appalled. "You think it doesn't matter why they'd be murderers?!"_

 _I leaned back, feeling the chair's plush headrest cradling my neck. It felt impossible to be scared of this kid; no matter how smart or tough she was, she was just like everyone else._

 _"Hey, Ashley," I said, "how quickly do people usually figure it out?"_

 _She recoiled as if I'd pulled a gun but managed to keep her stern expression. "What?! What are you talking about?"_

 _"Oh, come on." I almost laughed. "We overthrew the mastermind today. The first class to do that, after years of Alameda controlling things. And then you..._ you _... said we have to keep doing this program over and over, with new ultimate students. They have to think the game is real, which means they have to think they're the first ones to overthrow the mastermind. And... it doesn't take a genius to start to think, 'Hm, it seems pretty unlikely that my class is really the first.'"_

 _She glared. Her tiny hands kept clenching into fists, as if her stress was literally squeezing them. But eventually, she leaned back and grunted. "For most people, it takes a few days before they can think clearly." One person figured it out in the Lyft driving away from campus, but she was an exception."_

 _"And it's not a problem?"_

 _"No. It never is. Wait here." She abruptly stood up and walked into the nearly deserted hotel bar. She didn't have to wait, but there was a couple of minutes where she was arguing with the bartender._

 _Eventually, she returned with what appeared to be a grapefruit-based drink. She sat back down, sipping it angrily. "I'm almost fucking thirty," she muttered. "It's just ridiculous."_

 _"I don't think you're ever going to stop being carded," I remarked._

 _"No shit," she snapped, "but it gets old." She collected herself, sat up straight, and regarded me coolly. "As I was saying," she chirped professionally, "no, it never is a problem."_

 _"Huh. No one's upset?"_

 _"No one's upset_ enough _to keep them from knowing right from wrong."_

 _"Weird." I didn't really think it was weird, but it seemed like most people would. "You're the one directly responsible for what happened to them. I'd think they would blame you."_

 _"Well, that's just illogical, isn't it?" she argued, thrusting her drink at me firmly. "Basing your actions on_ your _own personal vendetta, rather than the larger issues? I'm not the_ government _. I'm not_ society _. And you don't get into a program like this in the first place if you're the kind of person who thinks small. Nope, everyone always ends up fully on board."_

 _"Huh." I poked at me coffee with my sizzle stick, thinking. "Well, what if someone isn't?"_

 _"Then they would be the enemy," she answered._

 _"No, they're not your enemy, either. They're neither."_

 _"Not how it works." Her tone was so confident, I was genuinely surprised this was the first time she'd had to deal with this. "On campus, we're classmates. I support you, no matter what I think of you. But once we graduate? You're either with us or against us. I'd see you off. I'd wish you well. I'd wait a day. And then... we'd come after you."_

 _"Hmm," I mused, pausing in thought for a moment. "Well, what if I didn't graduate?"_

 _That caught her off-guard. "Huh?"_

 _"You're full of shit, and I am not going to join you." I stared her down, wondering if she saw me as anything approaching an equal. "But everyone else is full of shit too, and I'm not joining them, either. And if the only way I can do that is to stay on campus, then let's do it."_

 _She didn't reply. I could tell she was seething but also kind of baffled about how to deal with me. Eventually, she just snorted in contempt and took a sip of her drink. "You're a fucking idiot," she snapped. "Alameda said he wanted us all to burn. If you'd rather pour gasoline on yourself than fight him, do what you want. But you're still a fucking idiot."_

 _"Guess I am," I agreed. The look we shared was not friendly, but I think it was literally the first time I'd ever seen an expression from her that wasn't in any way angry._

 _"She's so small," I thought._

* * *

We all just looked at him for a little while. I must have been the least surprised, since I'm the one that figured it out, and even I was completely speechless. He looked like he'd never been surprised by anything in his entire life.

"How'd you figure it out?" he asked, looking directly at me. His face was blank, in the same expression Juliet used to make. Just kind of tired nothing.

"I was thinking about that note," I managed to answer. "It didn't make sense, so I thought about it a different way. Then it all came together."

He nodded numbly. "Shoulda known." He swept the gun point around the circle. "Go ahead and explain it to everybody."

I was extremely suspicious of doing anything he suggested, but glancing at everyone's faces, I realized we all needed to be on exactly the same page for whatever came next. "Well... okay, so there were the two notes, right? The Dear Romeo note and then Earl's note... the one we found in the office."

They all nodded vaguely. "Go on, darling," Jane prompted.

"So... just, I was thinking about those, and I kept getting confused," I continued. "Like, I was trying to keep track of the two notes in my head. Because... so Ashley probably had both of them on her body when she died, but then how did Earl's note make it into the administration building? Why didn't Bepi find it when he searched her? Something was just wrong." I sighed. "So that's when I thought... what if it was simpler? What if there was only one note the whole time?"

Rocky started to reply and then stopped. "Um," he said eventually. "I... don't get it."

I found myself unable to look directly at Bepi; I wasn't sure if I was scared I'd get too angry or be too sad or empathize with him or what, but I wanted to just pretend he wasn't there. Allowing myself to just mystery-solve for a while longer was nice.

"Let's imagine you're in the quad that night, and you want to reset the system," I explained. "We know how you do that, right? You have to say the code, and you can't just whisper it."

* * *

 _Hey mastermind, I updated the software to allow for basic voice commands now! It was a little tricky, because I had to work within the confines of the doc's original program, but I figured it out. You can use any command anywhere on campus, as long as at least two (2) of the recording microphones pick up your voice! Just speak loudly and clearly, and your command should be registered no matter where on campus you are!  
Note: All command words must be spoken IN THE CORRECT ORDER and WITHIN A TWENTY SECOND TIME SPAN._

* * *

"You have to hurry, because someone might check the security system at any moment. You can't just blurt it out, because people will notice. You can't sneak off to the science building or the main quad to say it, because Jane or Katy or someone might overhear you." I realized, for the first time, that I was the only survivor who was on the scene that night, except for Bepi himself. They probably couldn't picture how seamless it was.

"So, you find a way to camouflage it. You've got a piece of redundant evidence... a note that probably doesn't tell you anything we couldn't figure out some other way. If you call everyone over, you can read it out loud, for all to hear."

* * *

 _Lucina and I walked nearer, Barrett still staring with amazement at the destruction around him. When I got to Bepi, he had his hand pressed against Ashley's hip. "I found something," he said. Frowning, he reached into her pocket and pulled out a piece of notebook paper, folded four times. He stood and unfolded it, considering what was written there._

 _"What is it?" I asked._

 _"It's... a letter," he said, crinkling his forehead in puzzlement. "But... like, it doesn't make any sense."_

* * *

I was leaning on my lectern, exhausted. "He just made the note up off the top of his head. Just random sentences, with the code words appearing in order. It was never written down."

"So Ashley's contingency plan..." Rocky trailed off, then looked at Bepi almost helplessly. "She didn't have a contingency plan."

"You kidding?" Bepi replied breezily. "Ashley never thought she might die for a single second."

"I should have known," Katy muttered, glowering. "I knew something was wrong, I knew it. The combination."

"Uh, what combination?" Rocky asked.

"To the secret information. You know, the personality combination. It's so obvious something wasn't right."

* * *

 _My attention was captured by the computer screen next to the door. It showed something completely new, a readout I hadn't seen before. It said_ ** _CORRECT RANKING OF PERSONALITY TRAITS! 1. NEUROTICISM 2. CONSCIENTIOUSNESS 3. OPENNESS TO EXPERIENCE 4. EXTRAVERSION 5. AGREEABLENESS. ENTRY APPROVED!_**

* * *

"That's not your personality. It's Ashley's. It was set up for her to get in if she needed to."

"So... we were correct, then?" Rodrigo asked suspiciously. "Ashley was recruited here, and she killed her own father to become the new mastermind? And you took over?"

"Hey." Bepi rubbed his remaining eye and sighed. "I'm tired. Don't throw all this shit at me."

"Yes, returning from the dead is exhausting, I would assume," Jane commented. Bepi just gave her a vague shrug.

"Yeah... how'd he do that, anyway?" Rocky asked. "We all saw him get exploded!"

"Ugh, no you goddamn didn't," Bepi moaned with bored irritation. "You saw a big flash go off and then I was gone."

* * *

 _There was a moment of just him mowing them down, mechanical carnage all around, his wild laughter somehow louder than the gunshots... and then the bomb above him made a mighty thunk sound._

 _There was a flash of blinding, white light. When it was gone, everything had just been vaporized. There was nothing at all left. Nothing._

* * *

"I just hid." He held up his right arm, which had bandages across it. "Not that the bears didn't go out of their way to make it believable, jesus christ."

"Sure, but... how?!" Rocky threw his arms in the air, perplexed. "Why didn't it kill you?"

Bepi just looked at me with a raised eyebrow, so I answered the question. "It's because there was a way to escape programmed in."

* * *

 _If you get in trouble:_

 _execution + my initials_

* * *

"The mastermind's real name is Ashley Alameda, remember? And just before Bepi's execution..."

* * *

 _"I'm ready for my fucking_ ** _execution_** _!" he shouted to Monokuma. Then he looked at all of us and pointed down at the thing on his lectern. "You listen to this. It's important. It's_ ** _alpha_** _-level important. You know what_ ** _alpha_** _-level means? It means the most important thing you can imagine._

* * *

"Oh my god..." Katy gasped, looking at him in horror. "That... that's the only reason you killed Barrett, right? So you could get fake-executed. It was the only way you'd be able to get to the admin part of campus and make yourself the new mastermind."

He shrugged. "If that's the story you want to tell."

"He had to," Rodrigo mused, glowering. "He chose to sacrifice a life simply to continue Ashley's cruel game."

"Whoa, hold up," Bepi argued. "Since when would I want to keep going with Ashley's shit? I never cared about Ashley's shit. I thought she was an idiot, and she loathed me because I wouldn't get on board with her stupid revolution."

"You were working with her," I said coldly. "It was almost the first time you ever talked to me."

* * *

 _He smiled wanly. "Monokuma called everyone here and told us we need to investigate this. Okay? We need_ _you_ _to investigate this. Our lives are on the line. We need to figure out who did this. Do you understand?"_

 _I paused as the world very briefly flickered, then I nodded. "Yes."_

 _"Okay." He nodded too. "Do me a favor. Close your eyes and take a deep breath. And then, when you open your eyes, you'll be ready. You can do that."_

* * *

"You told me I had to be the detective. You slotted me right into the role I was supposed to have."

"Oh," he said. "I guess I did." He said nothing else. There was a weirdly awkward silence.

"So what the fuck?" Rocky asked. "Were you on her side or not?!"

"It depends on who you ask, I guess. Look, you can make up your own minds. I wrecked her game, didn't I? Saya's standing right here."

"Yeah, but..." Katy trailed off. "Lucina would be alive if it wasn't for you. The game would have stopped."

"I gave Lucina every goddamn chance to survive," Bepi snarled, suddenly forceful. "You know who sentenced her to death." Smirking, he kept going too quickly for anyone to ask about that, and I hated being grateful to him for it. "Who really died because of me? Barrett and Juliet? None of you are crying rivers about them and don't pretend you are."

"Yo, Barrett was trying," Rocky pointed out. "After what happened, he was trying to be better."

"Uh huh, and he would have failed." Bepi just looked slightly amused about it. "By which I mean, he would have probably been able to pull it off."

"...what?" Katy asked. "He..."

"You know what he said to me?" Bepi interrupted impatiently. "He's all surrounded by smashed-up room. And he looks up at me and he just says 'There's something in me.' Like... he was possessed by a demon or something, I don't remember how he put it. But the point was, he just has this aggression inside him and he needed to figure out how to control it, and he asked me to help."

"In his last moments, he extended a hand to you in trust," Rodrigo growled. "Only to be betrayed."

"Oh, c'mon," Bepi groaned, almost whiningly. "Get off my case. I just spared him from years of trying and failing to be a better person."

"He could have been!" Rocky snapped. "I talked to him by the end; he was drugged up, but he was trying! He wanted to be better because of Nicole!"

"What?" Bepi glanced at Rocky, confused. "Of course he would have been _better_. Everyone does that. Everyone has a dead Nicole, or whatever. He would have found a way to calm his urge to destroy, and he would have turned into exactly the toadying yes-man she warned him he'd be."

"So... wait." Katy put her hand against her temple. "You didn't want him to turn into someone on Alameda's side?"

"What?!" Bepi asked, glaring, confused. "No! Nicole just made that shit up! Ten thousand ways Barrett could turn out, and she just happens to be exactly right? What kind of coincidence is that?"

"But... you just said..."

"I just _said_ he'd fix himself, like everyone does! He'd see his dark nature and valiantly struggle to fight for goodness! It was _sad_. Just so sad and pathetic, I couldn't stand it."

"Ugh," Jane muttered, pinching the bridge of her nose. "You know what? I don't care. None of us care. Just get it over with and die. Aren't you supposed to die?"

"Uhh." He looked around the circle blankly. "Why would I die?"

"Those were the rules! You said if we answered the questions, the mastermind would get executed!"

"Oh." He rolled his eye good-naturedly. "Uh, that was a lie, obviously. Why would I just let myself get executed for real?"

"But it's... it's the program!" Jane frothed. She pointed at Monokuma angrily. "You! You're supposed to execute someone, right?"

"Hey, don't involve me in this," Monokuma grunted. "I barely know what the hell is even going on, anymore."

"I'm not gonna get killed, Jane," Bepi said, holding the shotgun up. "And I don't think any of you really have much say in what happens next, do you? You should know by now, if I'm anything, I'm a survivor."

No one said anything. Eventually, I found myself able to speak up. "How many games did you survive?"

"This was my fifth," he answered, looking coldly at the barrel of the shotgun in his hands. "And no. In case you're wondering, I had never killed anyone before Barrett. Blew my perfect record." He glanced up at me. "I told you all about that, Saya. Remember?"

Everyone suddenly stared at me, and I took a step back. "What are you talking about? You never told me about being here before!"

"Sure I did! I was just... using an analogy, I guess."

* * *

 _He rubbed the back of his head and sighed. "You know, I started fighting when I was ten. And in all my time in the field, I have never killed a civilian."_

 _"Really?"_

 _"Not once. And thank God for that, because it changes something in people. I've seen grunts go rotten in that one second they figure out they zonked an innocent kid."_

* * *

"Wait..." I trailed off, gaping at him. "You... were never a child soldier."

He laughed brutally. "Christ, of course not. I lost this shit last year!" He indicated his missing eye. "Ashley couldn't wait for me to die. But she always ended up with more survivors when I was around, so she couldn't really complain."

* * *

 _"Look, I'm not saying I'm not completely fucked up. But I'm not fucked up in the way they wanted me to be. On missions, all I cared about was making sure everyone in my battalion survived, and I was good at it. I like to pretend I did it because of loyalty and compassion. But looking back, the main thing I remember is, after every mission, we went to see the commanders. And they really liked more survivors, because a dead soldier's a wasted investment. But they hated that I wasn't the soulless monster they wanted me to be."_

* * *

"What's... your real talent?" Katy asked. "When you got recruited?"

"Wordsmith. Do you believe that? I do puns and jokes and word games. Seems harmless, huh?" He shook his head, smiling softly. "Ashley got the idea for this Ultimate Cadet thing from Rodrigo, of course. She always did that. 'If you're going to pretend you don't have your own history, I'm just going to give you a half-assed version of someone else's."

"Wait." Rocky held up a hand, looking woozy. "Wait, but... that woulda just been really suspicious once we found out about Roddy's government program, right?"

"You weren't supposed to find out about that. No one thought Rodrigo would live this long."

Rodrigo blanched, but Bepi kept going. "You were all correct when you were talking before, of course. None of y'all were supposed to make it. Ashley thought it'd be Earl, Nicole, Therion, Lucina... maybe Juliet."

"Ugh!" Jane snapped. "Stop with this bullshit! If you're going to yammer forever, then at least tell us what we all want to know!"

"Huh." He blinked at her. "What is it you all want to know?"

"Gah!" She waved her arms vaguely in annoyance. "Why you did it! Why you kept the game going after Ashley died!"

"...Why?" He gaped at her as if he didn't understand the question. "You're asking me... why?"

"Yes, why!" Jane put her hands on her hips, glaring.

Bepi was still for a moment, as if considering Jane's question carefully. Then, he raised his gun, aimed it at her, and fired.

She made a terrible noise, like a screaming bird, and fell backwards. Without thinking, I ran towards her, frantic motion and ear-ringing and yells all around.

I saw Rodrigo, with a furious roar, make a bum-rush. Bepi just smoothly and quickly swiveled, pointed the barrel at Rodrigo's leg, and pulled the trigger again.

Rodrigo went down. Rocky frantically scrambled over to him as he lay, holding his knee and moaning. I knelt over Jane, who was feebly still moving around. Rocky grabbed at Rodrigo in tears. Katy just stood, frozen, behind her lectern.

I held Jane's hand, looking down at her in disbelief. But as I slowly caught up to reality, I realized... although she was prone and coughing... there wasn't any blood.

I looked over at Rodrigo. No blood there, either.

Monokuma walked up to Bepi, another shotgun in his paws. He handed it over, and Bepi passed his to the bear. "Are there real bullets in this one?" Bepi asked. Monokuma nodded.

I found myself hugging Jane in relief. For his part, Rocky looked absolutely infuriated, and might have charged Bepi, real bullets or not, had Rodrigo not held onto his arm.

Bepi casually strolled back over to his lectern, smiling at us all. No one said anything.

"I've always kind of felt like a man out of time," Bepi said, finally. "I'm twenty-eight, but I've never related to any of you millennials. Goddamn if I don't hate the boomers, too.

"No, me? I've always identified a lot more with **Generation X**. The slackers. The ironists. They know the truth: everything's bullshit."

He vaguely pointed the gun at me, then moved it away again. "So you start talking to me about 'why,' you start to lose me. 'Why' is an old rerun of the Jeffersons. 'Why' is a Pepsi commercial. If you don't know how pathetic 'why' is, it really starts to make me mad."

I felt Jane trembling uncontrollably in my arms. She was sniffling, muttering. Absolutely, totally terrified.

Bepi glanced down at Rodrigo. "You. Leg broken?"

"No." I was kind of shocked: Rodrigo's voice was so harsh, angry, and cold, it didn't sound like him at all. "A bruise."

"No shit. You partly dodged it, then. Good to know _all_ the training you got wasn't a waste. Stand up." He nodded at Rocky coldly. "And keep holding him back, because I will blow his head off. You know I will."

Rocky snarled, but Rodrigo held to his shoulder tightly. After a moment, Rocky relaxed at least slightly and helped the paladin stand. They hobbled over to Rodrigo's lectern.

Bepi whirled on me. "Is she dead?"

"No." I squeezed tighter.

"Ah, well. She was the other option, you know. Besides Barrett." His smile was slick and cruel. "Y'all stand up, too."

I almost refused, but Jane started standing up on her own, so I went with her. We walked back to her lectern and stood there, her face still buried into my shoulder.

"Anyway, Jane, to answer your question, it was just an impulsive thing," Bepi said pleasantly. "I had kind of started to engage in a kind of magical thinking, about Ashley, I thought she couldn't die. So you can imagine how shocked I was when I saw her body. I just kinda acted."

"Impulsive," I hissed. "How can you be so casual about keeping us here?!"

"Because it didn't matter," he answered, shrugging. "So might as well do as little as possible. And letting the game stop felt like a bigger impact than starting it back up again."

"Bigger impact..." Katy looked like she might faint. "This doesn't make sense. Do you know that? Are you just messing with us?"

"Katyyyy..." he moaned, pressing his palm against his head. "Lay off. I told you, I'm tired. My head hurts. None of this matters! Why are you all talking and talking about it?"

"Okay, then," I said, trying to be as firm as possible. "What matters? What is your goal, here?" I couldn't help it; this was my friend Bepi. Even as I was furious at him, I just... everything was just sad. I couldn't keep up being harsh. "You just wanted a captive audience to rant at? You want us to hate you? Or love you? What?"

He regarded me for a moment, still leaning into his palm. "What do I..." he muttered. "What do I want? Like... a plan? I don't plan. Ashley was the type to plan. It's probably why she was so good at this."

He laughed loosely. "She'd survived... almost twenty of these games, and didn't get a scratch. That is." His smile disappeared, and he glared. "Until y'all."

There was an icy-cold pause, then he waved his hand in casual dismissal. "Ah, it's okay, I don't blame you. Truth is, she'd been out of control since Therion."

"Therion?" Katy asked, blinking in confusion. "What did he do?"

"He made the damn game better!" Bepi snapped. "Just like he said."

* * *

 _He just nodded calmly to her. "If left alone, players become emotional. Stupid murders, just stabbing and leaving body where it lies; chaos. 'Investigations' just become haranguing obvious suspect until confession. Boring. A waste."_

 _His face took on an air of odd serenity. "But now I've taught you all. Plan had layers of deception. Still left clues. Still was caught."_

 _He smiled, vague but still noticeable. "Figured, won either way. If not found guilty, I escape; great. If found guilty, I set the model. Rest of you understand, to have chance of winning, must create even better mystery. Can you beat my high score? " He nodded smartly. "Game will live up to potential." He glanced up at Monokuma. "Taught the mastermind, too. Game is asinine without mysteries. Remember my example, use it to improve rules. Ultimate game designer. Worth dying for ultimate game."_

* * *

"He was exactly right. No one _ever_ gets away with a murder. There were always witnesses, and no one ever knew what to do about blood, and most people can't lie for shit. But then Therion pulls his little trick, and all of a sudden we got sixteen Agatha Christies running around."

He grinned humorlessly. "It was hilarious watching Ashley scramble around trying to deal with all that. Too bad she died. I still blame you for that, Saya."

The shotgun went off in his hand. It had been pointing over my head, and the sudden, deafening boom caused my knees to buckle, and I pulled Jane with me to the floor. She just held on tighter, holding onto me like a barnacle. I sat there in shock.

I managed to look behind and above me. There was a twisted dent in the metal ceiling. Those really were real bullets.

Bepi hadn't moved. "So, yeah, I don't have a plan," he said calmly. "As far as I'm concerned, as soon as we're done here, you can just go."

"J..just go?" Katy squeaked. "You'd... really let us go?"

"Yuh-huh."

I blinked at him. "We'll... tell everyone. Expose this whole thing."

"Yuh-huh."

We all gaped, perplexed at his casual shrug. "You're okay with that?"

"Yuh-huh."

I couldn't think of anything to say; his nonchalance was more terrifying than the gunshot. He just shrugged.

"My head hurts," he said. "Maybe I'm dehydrated or something?"

But even worse was when his laid-back mask cracked and he started to laugh. It was a rasping, coughing laugh: either this was fake, or the laugh he'd always had when I knew his was fake. I couldn't tell.

"Isn't it dumb?" he chortled. "Look at me, 'Oh, I don't care about anything!' I'm so unpredictable!' You should call me out when I pull this shit! Like I think I'm some kind of bad-ass."

"I don't think you're a bad-ass," Rocky grunted. "I just think you have a gun."

Bepi nodded to him. "Good point. So anyway, just do me a little favor, and you can all go."

I didn't want to prompt him by asking, but luckily he continued on his own. "Didn't any of you wonder about the tenth building?"

"Tenth building?" Rocky asked.

"Yeah! The library was the ninth, and you assumed the administration building was the last one. But that's the same as the dorm. So where's the tenth building? And the answer is... we're in it."

I hadn't noticed Monokuma standing next to him and holding a remote control device, but I did notice when he pressed his paw into the buttons. The walls around us groaned; it was faster than what had happened in the dorm but much louder. When it was over, our settings had changed: the room had shrunk; the walls were now shiny, modern silver. Bepi and Monokuma stood in front of a huge computer console covered with panels and featuring a large, central screen.

"What...?" Rodrigo gasped. "Where are we? What has happened?"

"Welcome to central control," Bepi announced, grinning. "That trial bunker is a waste of space when a game isn't going on, so it's double-use."

Monokuma, without a word, walked over to the computer module and stuck both his arms into two little sockets. His body shuddered, and he fell over backwards.

Suddenly, the screen came to life, Monokuma leering at us. "Synced!" he said, but a ripple of static flowed across the screen and he froze in surprise. "Wait..."

Bepi glanced over his shoulder. "You okay, there?"

"I... standby." The screen went blank for a moment, then flickered, and then finally he popped back up, nodding in satisfaction. "All right! Just dealing with... a little problem. It's fine! don't worry about it. See?"

Almost silently, chainlike mechanical arms descended from the ceiling; the same ones that had restrained people during trials and pulled them away sometimes to be executed. They hovered over us.

"As long as you got it under control," Bepi muttered. "Show 'em the countdown."

"I still think we should just kill them..." Monokuma grumbled, but several small screens near him lit up with a digital timer, counting down from a little over ten hours.

"Ashley had a pretty vague goal," Bepi said. "Undo the old hegemonies. Make a clean break from the past, and rescue everyone held down by history. Create a future based on egalitarianism and justice."

He shrugged. "Yeah, I never really got how she was supposed to to that, either. But, she had a very clear eye to the first step. She knew she had to demolish all the structures and erase their defenders. And she had smart motherfuckers and a hell of an AI working for her. They worked something out."

Monokuma disappeared and was replaced with a map of the United States, covered with dots of light, lines, and gradients. "This is the plan. Politicians to assassinate. Cultural messages to propagate and the best way to do so. Bills to draft, technology to invent, disasters to orchestrate. A thousand little jobs for a bunch of radicalized geniuses."

"What?" I blurted, absolutely perplexed. "How can... Ashley thought the alumni were going to overthrow society? That's impossible, no matter how smart they are. There's like a hundred of them!"

"A little under two-hundred," Bepi corrected. "I told you, my presence boosted the survival rate, and Ashley went back and collected a lot of the ones from before her time."

"Still, this is ridiculous! They wouldn't be able to do that!"

"You want to see her model?" Bepi asked, tapping a button next to him. Startlingly, the screen on my lectern came to life, showing a set of matrices and visualizations. "It's pretty complex, but you're really good at systems, right? You'll get it."

I stared at the screen, trying to take it in. It took a moment, but I did start to see what it was communicating: Ashley's assumptions and likelihoods and equations.

"Jane, you can look, too." Jane just held on to me, her face still pressed into my shoulder. "Uh oh," Bepi remarked, "I broke Jane."

"Saya?" Rocky asked. "What's it say?"

"I think..." I felt dizzy trying to take it all in, but I nodded. "I think it's actually right. Like..." I tried to resist the analogy, but I couldn't help it. "...it's like a chess game. It's really complicated at the beginning, with lots of uncertainty. But pretty soon, all the possibilities get narrower and narrower." I looked up at them, pale. "I think they could do it."

"Of course they could do it!" Monokuma barked from the computer's video screen, one of the machine arms wagging at me like a chiding index finger. "You're talking to the fastest, best AI in the world, not counting that asshole over at M.I.T.!"

"She wanted to recruit three more classes, after you," Bepi said. "But just to make it happen faster. She was already confident it'll happen."

"Ten years," I mused, looking at the numbers. "Maybe twelve." I found it hard to breathe all of a sudden. "They could do it. I'm pretty sure."

"To destroy an entire society..." Rodrigo muttered. "How many innocent lives would be lost?"

"Maybe a million, across the whole thing!" Monokuma yelled. "Well... the confidence intervals are pretty wide, but that's my guess. There certainly won't be a lot of armed conflict or anything, just... some people here and there."

"A million lives..."

"But but but!" Monokuma screeched. "I also modeled the alternative! Plenty of people die just as things are, from poverty, discrimination, poor housing, stress, a bunch of stuff! Even more than the plan would cause. And the plan's a one-time thing, and then it's over! Those other things kill people year after year!"

Rodrigo opened his mouth, then closed it again. "Friend Saya," he asked finally. "Is it true?"

"I... yeah. I think." I sighed helplessly. "There's parts I don't get, but Ashley's plan ends up killing a lot of people over time. But the stuff her plan is supposed to fix kills lots of people, too."

"'Supposed to fix,'" Monokuma grunted. "The plan _will_ fix 'em!"

"And... replace them with what?" Katy asked. "What about all the chaos this leave behind?"

"I kept asking Ashley that same question," Bepi replied. "She said if we got frozen by stuff like that, nothing would ever change. If we make a clean break from _their_ ways of doing things, something better has to spring up." He sighed. "Of course, she thought she'd still be around, helping to guide it. She never gave up on her dream of being president, y'know."

"There's... there things here about laying the foundations for new institutions," I said, concentrating on the visualizations. "It doesn't seem like it'd just be anarchy. Uh, but it looks like they can't tell what the institutions would turn out to be."

"The point is a clean break," Bepi explained patiently. "Eliminate the competition, prejudice, cruelty, and rigidity of the Alamedas. No generation has ever had a chance to completely start something of their own. Ashley wanted to give us you that chance."

No one said anything; we were too overwhelmed. But one of us was pretty used to being overwhelmed, so he didn't take it too badly. "Yo, this is totally one of those things I'm too dumb to get," Rocky said, "but what's this countdown thing? Why'd you bring us here?"

"Ashley never thought she'd die here," Bepi replied. "But she wasn't dumb enough to have her entire plan go to hell if she did. Every semester, she sent a message to all the alumni, 'If you don't hear from me by a certain time on a certain date, I'm gone. Start the plan."

"Start the..." Katy stared at the computer in amazement. "If that reaches zero..."

"...It'll kick off the ten-year process of completely tearing down the society we were born into," Bepi finished for her.

"And it'll just... happen?" Katy asked. "There's no way to stop it?"

"Oh no, there's totally a way to stop it," Bepi answered breezily. "You could send in the ninjas."

Even Jane looked up at him in bafflement when he said that.

"...Ninjas?" I managed to ask.

"Ashley's last, desperate failsafe. She always gave herself an escape route." Bepi gave a lopsided, almost sentimental smile. "They're not really ninjas. I just call them that. They're a small group of alumni Ashley selected over the years. The dangerous ones. The Juliets."

He tapped the computer with the tip of his shotgun. "You push this button before the countdown ends, and that'll send them their own secret orders: The plan went south. Kill everybody."

"Kill..."

"They'll be gradual and subtle and slow. But in a couple of years, every single alumnus will be dead. Ashley's plan will be over. You'll have saved society."

I took a deep breath, thankful Jane was there to hold onto. "So... this favor you want us to do..."

"I want you to make the choice." His voice was light, but his expression was cold and stony. "Do we send the ninjas, or do we let the time run out?"

It was so stark and shocking, I think I would have fallen down if Jane hadn't been holding on. Rocky bugged his eyes out. "...Us?!"

"I told you," Bepi sneered, "I'm Generation X. You boomers and millennials fight your stupid war, if it makes you happy. Leave me out of it."

There was a silence as we considered this awesome responsibility. "I mean..." Rocky finally said, "...I mean, we gotta push the button, right? If everything gets wrecked, then it'll be huge. It'll be... everything will be different."

"Yeah," Katy said. "It'll affect everybody. We'll be changing everyone's lives."

"Right!" Rocky agreed. "Making a big decision for everyone! We can't do that."

"Friend Rocky..." Rodrigo spoke up, looking over with anxious tenderness. "I'm afraid I cannot agree with you."

Rocky thankfully looked more confused than mad about being contradicted. "Huh?"

Rodrigo took a deep breath and straightened himself up as tall as he could with his injury. "Please recall, I recently came into this world," he said with almost regal calmness. "I had known of the horrors of poverty and the evils of sin, of course. But I was still shocked when confronted with the ills of the real world outside my monastery."

"Yeah, but... but that's just how it is," Rocky argued.

"But it doesn't have to be." Rodrigo nodded to me. "If Friend Saya is correct, we can change it. What kind of paladin would I be if I ignored that chance? Mankind should be free, and that includes freedom from outworn ideas. I trust God to protect the church and all other institutions of virtue."

"But..." Rocky shook his head in disbelief. "But we'll be killing a million people, Roddy!"

"Pushing that button would make us far more directly responsible for deaths," Rodrigo pointed out. "And if I am free, I can work to minimize the suffering Friend Ashley's plan causes. But I cannot ignore a chance to fight the evils of the world."

"No, you don't get it!" Rocky barked. "This... like, okay. Society's fucked up, right? Like, whatever, sure, I know. But if it wasn't there, it'd just be like me when I'm mad. It'd be totally out of control."

"I'm sorry, I cannot agree," Rodrigo replied, smiling softly. "However, I am not so arrogant as to believe no one else has wisdom. If I am outvoted, so be it."

Rocky stared at him a moment, then sighed. "Okay. Fine. Katy? You agree with me, right? We can't do this."

"I..." Katy had one hand pressed against her temple and the other nervously fiddling with her locket. "I don't know. I just don't!"

Rocky sighed. "Jane?" Jane did not look up. "Okay, Jane's not here right now. So... well actually..." He shrugged. "Looks like it's up to Saya, and I kinda don't have a problem with that."

"Ah, indeed," Rodrigo agreed. "She best understands the plan. As long as she seriously considers my words, she may decide."

"Um." I held up an index finger. "Don't I get a vote in, um, whether or not I get a vote?"

"Oh, here we go," Bepi muttered. "Saya pulling her Saya shit." He waved his hands at me in frustration. "Just pick something! It's not like it matters. Flip a coin, if you want."

"You don't..." Katy looked almost afraid by how confused she was. "You don't even care?"

"Of course I care!" Bepi snapped. "There's a right answer! One is better than the other. If you make the wrong choice, you'll know. Fifty years from now, you'll look back on this moment in regret while the world burns around you."

"But... which is which?" Rodrigo asked.

"Damned if I know. But it'd be a hell of a coincidence if they both turned out exactly the same, right? Tell me something. When Nicole blew up Earl, was that a good thing she did?"

"No way!" Rocky yelled. "If she hadn't done that, we'd all have escaped!"

"Well, that's easy to say now," Bepi replied calmly. "But Earl's the only one who'd seen most of the Cassandra documents, and he was close to Ashley. He was in a unique position to figure out about her. Nicole had no way of knowing. To the best of her knowledge, she was killing a dangerous psychopath."

"But..."

"And what about Earl? Ashley had blood on her hands, but Earl took advantage of the one moment of trust she'd put in anyone for years."

"Ugh," I grunted. "Look, we get it, all right? Nothing means anything. There is no right and wrong. Right? Is that what you want?"

"No!" He shouted, suddenly frantic and enraged. He stormed around his lectern and straight up to me. Jane cowered into my neck and I tried to stand tall in the face of his anger, but I couldn't; he was all strength and danger and cruelty.

"No," he repeated to me, icily. "No, there is right and wrong, of course. It's just I don't know what the fuck it is, and neither do you." He glanced up. "Hey bear, is anyone gonna rush me?"

"I don't think so," Monokuma answered.

"Grab 'em if they try anything." The machine-arm-chains descended to hang dangerously over my classmates' heads.

He fixed his eye on me, tense and strong and manly. I remembered his tenderness when we were having sex, and I felt sick.

"This is what Ashley never got," he hissed to me. 'This is what I tried to explain to her over and over, and she never listened. You're going to listen."

His voice stayed just as cold and awful as he added, "We're friends, right? We support each other."

I didn't say anything.

"I always kind of thought you could be a kindred spirit," he said, his expression starkly sincere. "I didn't save you to make fun of you. I saved you so you could understand this, right now."

He reached out towards me, softly. "Don't touch me," I growled.

He stopped, sadness flushing across his face for a split second, before he whirled around and marched back to his place by the computer. "Ashley and her father both had a vision for how things should be," he announced to everyone. "And both were bullshit. Just completely made up out of nothing.

"Y'all thought Therion was crazy, killing and dying for a game. But that's every ideology. He made up his reason for doing something. Ashley made up hers. Her dad made up his. It's just a bunch of stupid, wrong structures they desperately imposed upon the world. All just to keep from freaking out about the fact that they had no idea what's going to happen."

"Hypocrite!" Rodrigo yelled.

Bepi froze for a moment, then looked over at him, all calm oiliness. "I beg your pardon?"

"You're a hypocrite!" Rodrigo insisted. "For what is this you're voicing... but an ideology of your own?!"

Bepi just laughed. "Uh yeah, because I'm full of shit. Thanks for finally noticing. I'm a sad, little baby, playing make-believe. But so are you. So was Ashley. I'm not any less pathetic than any of you, we're all pitiful, desperate little idiots. But."

He sneered, and it was the ugliest face I've ever seen anyone make. "But at least I _know it_." He sighed. "So many people think this is all some big important war of ideas, this grand clash of the generations. And I almost couldn't stand how sad it was to watch Ashley throwing herself into that, when I knew it was all just a bunch of idiot kids playing in the backyard.

"You can get this, can't you, Saya?" He asked, turning to me suddenly. "This is too big a decision to be left to someone who thinks it fucking matters."

"I think you're crazy," I replied simply.

"That's a good start!" He nodded to me approvingly. He started to say something else, but Monokuma's image on the screen flickered briefly.

Bepi looked over at the computer. "Yeah, dude?"

"Nothing!" Monokuma barked. "I'm fine! Don't worry."

Shrugging, Bepi turned back to the circle. "Hey, let me put it this way. Why'd the government pay for this?"

"What?"

"Why were so many people willing to pay to do this to us? Ashley said that they want to hurt us because they want control and power. But I don't think that shit's true." His stare wasn't easy-going and languid any more; it was steely and cruel. "Alameda said he was doing it to protect the world from chaos. I don't think that shit's true, either."

Just like that, he relaxed again, and he loped over to a chair set up by the wall and draped himself in it. "Saya, your dad abused you and you always wanted to know why, but he wouldn't tell you. Right?"

I glared at him.

"I can answer that for you," he said. "It's the same reason why Katy's dad was kind to her. And why Juliet's parents ruined her. And why Lucina's parents made her mute."

"Why?" Katy asked. I guess she couldn't resist. I didn't blame her.

Bepi grinned joylessly. "It's because... I don't fucking know."

Katy pulled her head back in surprise, then sighed. "Of course you'd just be messing with us..."

"I'm not messing with you!" he protested. "It's true. It's the right answer. I don't know. No one knows. _They_ didn't even know."

"God, shut up," Katy grunted, holding her head. "Just shut up."

"No no, you know it better than anyone else here! In stories, you can set it up in advance. You have your Childhood Backstory and your Motivations and your Inner Conflicts and it's all so neat and sweet. And here's how fucking pathetic people are: they turn themselves into these fictional characters who just work the same way!"

"That's not true," Katy insisted. "I know why I do things."

"You know the story you tell yourself later," Bepi corrected her. "A million things go into everything you do, and you never notice most of them. And yet when you look back, it's all coherent. A cute little story."

"So, what," I snapped, "everything's made up? We're all nobody and everything's fake and nothing matters?"

"Ugh, that's what Ashley said, too," he said, sighing. "That's why she always made me the pauper, to make fun of me. But of course we're not _nobody_. It's just every time we think we're _somebody_ , we're lying. A fairy tale."

I was starting to get very done with all of this. "What's your point? What's this have to do with the choice?"

"When you make this choice, there's no way to know what the right answer is, and there's not even any way to know why you pick what you pick." He grinned joylessly. "It's hopeless and stupid and depressing, but it's true. And I don't want you to have any illusions."

"So..." I trailed off, looking at him in bafflement. None of this made any sense. "You want me to be like you?"

He snickered. "Whatever, if that's the story you like to tell."

"I could never be like you," I insisted.

He just sighed. "Every time you say something like that, you look like a complete idiot. I just can't imagine anyone could be so closed-off and smug and stupid; it doesn't even seem real to me."

He stepped closer, then smiled when I instinctively tensed up. "You will never know enough to know what kind of person you are. It's just bullshit you made up to feel good."

"No," I insisted. "You're wrong. I know myself. I wouldn't turn into you."

He looked a little surprised by how firm I was being. Eventually, he shook his head in disgust and swept his gaze around the whole circle. "Hey, everyone," he announced. "So, Saya murdered her dad."

Jane let go of me; it felt like I was in a freezer to so suddenly be without her body warmth. She stepped back and gaped at me in horror. The others' faces ranged from surprise to anger. Even though it was cold, I felt like I was burning up.

"No!" I stammered. "I didn't! And... and even if I did..."

"You're full of shit," Bepi interrupted. I didn't know what to say; I just fell silent. "He was trapped, injured, slowly dying. She looked him in the eyes and made her decision. She left. He died."

"That's not murder!" I insisted, not even realizing until a moment later I was admitting it in front of everyone. "Murder is when you _**do**_ something; I didn't do anything to hurt him!"

"But you hated him."

"Yes, but... but of course I did!" There were tears coming out of my eyes, and the blood seeping out from under the bookcase felt like it was lapping against my feet. "He hurt me!"

"Huh." Bepi was grinning like a snake. "And, just what did he _**do**_ to you that hurt so bad?"

I started to answer, then felt the sounds die in my throat.

"So, there we go, Miss 'I know what kind of person I am,'" Bepi droned. "That took five seconds. You make no sense. That whole self you think you are is just gibberish. You _are_ someone hurt by your dad, but you're _not_ someone who'd murder him, and it's just because that's what makes you feel best about yourself.

"It's just pathetic. It's truly... it almost makes me sad. To be so certain about something so... ugh." He glowered down at me, like a monster. "It's like when a six year-old puts on a pink dress and makes everyone call her a princess. But you're a fucking grownup."

I found myself looking around the circle for help, but Jane appeared disgusted and frightened and the others were just confused.

"Oh, don't be such a little drama queen, Jane," Bepi snapped. Jane gaped over at him as he sauntered over to the Monokuma computer and fiddled with some buttons.

"What..." Jane began, but she was cut off by the screen flickering away to show something else. A camera feed of our hallway; dark outside the windows, but brightly lit inside. It was night. A door slowly opened and Jane stepped out, wearing a large, fluffy bathrobe, and, as always, her long gloves. She carried a vial of some sort of liquid, and her movements were somehow both agitated and slow.

"Now, I can't read minds," Bepi said. "But I don't have to, do I? We can all tell what's going on, here."

* * *

 _Stupid people. Stupid stupid stupid. Barely human. Probably NOT human, if you really think about it. Cows, staring slack-jawed at fireworks._

 _I stealthily make my way to the closest door on my right. The chess girl, the cloying, smarmy fussbudget. Not quite as stupid as some of the rest of them, but that glimmer of sapience makes her even worse._

 _I slowly uncork my vial, noting the consistency and color of the liquid inside. It looks ready._

 _I saw her, stealing glances at Emily. Oh, Emily said she didn't believe Saya could be attracted to her, and if she was, it'd be 'flattering.' But her flaw was her optimism. Right now, this red-headed harlot probably only remembered her as an object to fantasize about. Emily deserves better, she deserves to be remembered with love and respect._

 _Saya is probably a psychopath. Yes. Almost certainly a psychopath. Everyone here except for myself is either a fool or a lunatic._

 _I hold the vial over the doorknob, ready to tilt it. It 's genius: the poison iss slow and undetectable. There are no obvious symptoms, and then 24 hours after contact, kaput, your lungs just stop working._

 _I don't pour any poison out. I for some reason keep thinking of Saya's face. She has, at times, treated me with respect.. even concern. It was insincere; of course. I'd have to be a fool to believe it, and I'm not a fool! But it would be..._

 _This poison surely would cause a painful death. And if Saya cares enough to try to trick me, she must respect my intelligence, and therefore she deserves a quick and painless end._

 _Earl? Okay. Yeah. Maybe I'll kill Earl._

 _I slink down the hall to his door like a sexy spy, and I hold the vial precariously above his doorknob. I do not tilt it._

 _The smug fopdoodle doesn't deserve a second thought, of course. He spoke to me about his tank and engineering, childishly asinine rantings. He has feelings, yes, but the feelings of a beetle. Not worth considering. I do not pour any of the poison out._

 _Perhaps my poison is TOO brilliant? After all, who else could create something so seamless? They could be outsmarted, but perhaps they're not so dim that they couldn't identify the one who could most easily outsmart them._

 _Yes. Yes, this plan is perfect, but that's a problem when only one suspect is capable of perfection! I should wait. Yes._

 _Yes, I'll kill them all, one of these days, but... well. After I'm done changing my eyes. Yes, that makes sense. By then, I'm sure they'll all act in a million horrid ways that will make it obvious they all deserve killing._

 _I carefully put the stopper back on top of my vial and slink back down the hall to my room._

* * *

"Is that part of how you see yourself, Jane? Someone too stupid to escape when she has the chance?" He glanced around at everyone, pausing at me. "Does this fit the little schema you got in your heads for her? Someone you can only trust because she's too stupid and chickenshit to kill?"

"You're trying to confuse us!" Rocky yelled. "This is bullshit! Don't listen to him!"

"No one's listening already," Bepi grunted, whapping his hand back into another computer button without even looking. "It's just stuff you're seeing with your own eyes."

The screen flickered to life again, this time showing Rocky standing in the kitchen at the frat house. There was a shiny, clean icepick on the floor, and he agitatedly paced back and forth in front of it.

* * *

 _"C'mon c'mon c'mon," I mumble, hitting myself in the chest. "Get mad! C'mon! Gragh! Murder-mad!"_

 _It's not working. "Grrrrr! Roar! Get maaaadddd!"_

 _A voice calls out from the freezer. "Trying to make yourself mad, huh?"_

 _Oh shit she can hear me. "Uh." Shit shit shit ummmm. "No!"_

 _"You hate getting mad." She's all calm and weird and I can just tell she's being sneaky somehow. "Your whole life is about trying to stop yourself from getting mad."_

 _"Yeah, well, maybe I changed my mind!" I yell at the freezer door. "If I wanted to get mad, which I don't!" Wait a minute. "Hey, fuck you, anyway! You're evil!"_

 _"Want me to help?" she offers. "I got Emily killed. And JP, too! Poor idiot didn't stand a chance. Or I can talk about how shitty your music is!"_

 _I think about it. Nothing much happens; I already know she's bad, so this isn't anything new._

 _"Why are you doing this?" she asks._

 _"None of your stupid business!" I look down at the icepick. I've never stabbed anyone, but I know you gotta do it over and over again, just stab stab stab stab stab stab._

 _"It'd be pretty depressing if you got mad and it just ended up with you dead," she points out. "Tragic, even. Classical-tragic, like it's your fatal flaw you could never overcome."_

 _"I don't know what the fuck that means."_

 _"It just means you were always doomed. You spend your whole life trying to be chill, and at the very end you have to force a freak-out. It sucks."_

 _I glare at the door even though she can't see me. "This is depressing more than it's making me mad."_

 _"You should just go to bed. Stay alive. I'm rooting for you! I've always liked gay dudes, dunno why."_

 _"Shut up!"_

 _She sighs. "Well, if you do kill someone, kill Saya, would you?"_

 _"Gragh!" I grab the icepick off the floor and stomp off over near the secret passage. I'm super-frustrated, but that's way different from what I need. I need, like, berserker scream-fury!_

 _"I got it!" Her voice is muffled, but I can still hear it. "Just imagine me laughing at you!"_

 _"What the... look, shut up, you're not helping!"_

 _"Because I'm going to be. After you're dead. There is nothing more goddamn hilarious than a clown."_

 _"Cl..." What the fuck, clown? What the fuck?" "Shut up!"_

 _"But you're a clown! You just are! That's why Lucina laughs at you, too. I saw her. You didn't notice because she doesn't make any noise, but I saw it."_

 _"Look, shut up! I swear to god..."_

 _"Well, what else can I say? Everyone knows you're too goddamn stupid to be anything. It's hysterical watching you try!"_

 _"Shut up shut up shut up!" With a scream, I run over to the freezer door, tear off the padlock, and throw it to the side. Then I duck into the secret passage. She will never see me coming, it's a secret goddamn passage! Gonna kill Juliet it's gonna happen._

 _I'm enraged and stupid and gonna get killed really soon and it's all amazing. Jesus christ, the best thing ever, oh my god._

* * *

"God, what a waste you are," Bepi sneered at Rocky. "All this effort and energy thrown around for no reason at all."

"Do not speak to him that way!" Rodrigo bellowed, still clearly favoring his leg.

"Ha! Speaking of waste." Bepi gestured to Rodrigo with his gun, cavalierly pointing it right at the paladin's chest. "Hundreds of thousands of the taxpayer money down the drain, with this one. But I bet he can somehow twist that into being good."

"These are the devil's words," Rodrigo hissed, but Bepi just shrugged.

"The whole idea was make a child soldier. Make a _killer_. So, they sure seemed to churn out machines back in the old crusades days, so let's just emulate that! Take our test case, plop him in a realistic simulation, and boom. Megasoldier. But it didn't work."

"I am quite effectively trained in combat," Rodrigo growled.

"But you ain't got the heart, huh?" Bepi asked, leaning forward. "You're a lamb. A weakling. They wanted Joan of Arc, and they ended up with fuckin' St. Francis. Why do you think they gave up and just started screwing with you by the end? Why do you think they sent you here to be killed? You were a waste."

"Righteousness is not a waste!" Rodrigo barked. "A pious heart is not weakness!"

Bepi smirked. He turned a dial and pushed a button. The screen behind him turned on.

I couldn't really make sense of what I was seeing at first. A bed... and a person sitting on the side of it. It was Rodrigo. He was leaning back, his face pointed up to the ceiling. Honey brown hair bobbed back and forth between his legs. He made a noise like a basketball shoe pivoting on a glossy gym floor.

* * *

 _I_

 _What is._

 _'Twas like the need to sneeze or to stretch upon waking, but grander and lighter and_

 _My gaze is unfocused and my ears are full of ringing. I barely see as Foul Juliet pulls back from me, an evil gremlin's smile on her face._

 _This feeling is grotesque and execrable and sweet. I hear her say with kindness, "Thank you for protecting me from that mean, dangerous DJ." And she just goes into the bathroom._

 _What have I allowed to happen? What has my body done? I had known 'twould be sin, but how could there be a sin I could not resist? I have never encountered such a thing. How could I lack the strength?_

 _I can see the Foul Monster through the bathroom doorway. She is looking at herself in the mirror as if proud of her vanity._

 _I realize my face is wet. There are tears staining my cheeks; tears I had not even known I was shedding. Foul Juliet sees this and laughs like a desert naiad._

* * *

"Ah, the righteous knight," Bepi breathed. "With his gallant, strong, pious heart."

I tried not to look at Rocky, but I couldn't help it. His expression was... not exactly betrayal. It was confused and surprised and angry like betrayal, but not quite right. He looked too sad.

Bepi glanced over at Katy.

"Are you just going to do us all one by one?" she asked. "Just... just torture us all by pointing out how we're stupid hypocrites? Okay, we're stupid hypocrites. You made your point."

"Hypocrisy is the easy way out," Bepi chided her. "You've got to let go of easy answers like that. But... that was never your style was it? All you ever _do_ is take the easy way out, except for all the times you make things harder on yourself."

She looked around at all of us helplessly. No one came to her aid. I'm not sure any of us could.

Bepi pushed a button on the computer. Suddenly, there were Katy and Lucina, laughing and happy, and the camera was focused on Katy's almost childishly expressive face. They were signing to one another, but subtitles popped up with each motion.

* * *

 _She is so so so so so so beautiful. I forget when I look away and then I look back and it's just wham. I think what I'm always surprised by is how interesting she is to look at. I don't just want to stare because she's pretty, I'm always finding new pretty things I hadn't noticed before._

 _She blushes under my gaze and twiddles at her ponytail, hanging over her shoulder. "My roots are really showing," she signs to me. "It was dumb to dye my hair anyway."_

 _"Oh, I think it looks great, though!" I sign back. "Bright colors fit you. You're like..." I pause and try to think of something. "...my flower."_

 _She laughs. "A broken flower, maybe."_

 _I frown. She says things like that sometimes and I'm never sure how to react. "I don't think you're broken."_

 _"No, I'm your broken flower!" she insists. "I really like it."_

 _"Uh," I say out loud._

 _"It fits me," she signs._

 _"Well." I pause for a moment, trying to think of a nice way to put it. "It's just kind of dark."_

 _She raises an eyebrow. "But isn't it perfect? It works for our tragic, doomed love affair!" She giggles as she signs these last few words. There is a beat, and she looks surprised I didn't laugh too._

 _"But... what if I don't want a tragic love affair?" I ask out loud, very quietly. "What if I want to be happy? And I want you to be happy?"_

 _She pulls away and just regards me in confusion for a moment. Then she sighs and shakes her head. "Of course I'd like that, too," she signs. "But I don't think that's possible with me."_

 _I just sit silently for a moment. I knew she thought like this, but it always leaves me speechless. "I think it is," I say, finally._

 _"I don't want to argue about it," she signs back._

 _We just sit there for a moment, and it feels like she's a million miles away from me. But then she smiles and signs, "Anyway, I thought you were the one who always talked about how romantic the whole tragic thing was."_

 _"Uh... I do, but..."_

 _"That's part of why I love you. I feel like I can be a character from one of your stories."_

 _"Oh." I think about that, then look up at her, biting my lip anxiously. She's scary when she gets mad, and she reaaalllly gets mad when I poke at these... thoughts she has about herself. I still need to try, though. "Well. But sometimes I feel like I want something, um. Real."_

 _"Real?" she signs, looking confused. "But I thought you were committed to the passion and romance. I love that!" She pauses, as if considering not to communicate the next part, but she goes on anyway: "I could have something_ real _with anyone. Like, I think Saya is very pretty. But she's not_ romantic _like you."_

 _"Um. Right, okay." I don't know what I feel, but I know it isn't good and I know I don't want to think about it. "Okay. Yeah. You're my... broken flower." I laugh softly, not completely forced but a little. "That is romantic."_

 _She throws her arms around me and squeezes. This is the first time that hasn't been enough to make me feel better._

* * *

"You're somehow the saddest of them all," Bepi remarked. "If you're going to superimpose a bullshit story onto your life, can't you even commit to it?"

Katy was crying. Jane, of all people, went over to her and put her gloved hand awkwardly on her shoulder. Katy pulled her into an embrace. Jane looked like she wanted to die, but she didn't try to move away.

I barely noticed this; I was still staring at the screen. Monokuma had reappeared, glowering at us all.

"Oh, grow up, Saya," Bepi grunted. "She wasn't perfect, deal with it." He thought for a moment. "Or don't. Doesn't matter."

I tried to talk and couldn't. No one seemed able to. Everyone just looked lost, confused, ashamed, and cold.

"Everyone's gonna mess shit up," he announced casually. "The more you think it matters, the stupider you look."

Smirking, he loomed over me, thrusting his arm out like a circus ringmaster. "Well, go on, Saya! This is why I saved you! So you could make the choice and know it didn't fucking matter. Push the button or don't. Then go out and work until you die, or don't. Who cares?"

He was smiling, and I felt like I couldn't stop falling. I clutched my chest, looking around confused, hopelessly. I opened my mouth to try to speak and couldn't. He was smiling. The button glowed red, and the countdown glowed green, and it was all just fuzzy.

"You're lying."

The voice was quiet, but Bepi whirled on it like a samurai. "I'm sorry?"

"You're lying." Katy glowered up at him, one of Jane's arms still around her. "Saya, he's lying."

Bepi took a step closer to her, gun pointed not quite directly at her. Jane backed away, pressing her back against the Monokuma computer, getting as far away from him as she could. He didn't seem to mind, just staring Katy down. "Lying doesn't mean anything."

"Yeah, it does." She had both her hands balled into fists, looking stronger than I'd ever seen her. "You said this is why you saved Saya. But you didn't."

"Uh, yeah I did," he replied, rolling his eye and taking a step closer. "Y'all would have executed her if I hadn't changed things."

"You _didn't_ change things," she insisted. "You just gave Juliet all the stuff, and _she_ decided to change things. Because you couldn't..."

She suddenly stopped. I thought it was because he moved the barrel of the shotgun to point directly at her, but it wasn't. "Oh." She looked sad, tilting her head and frowning at him. "It's all the same, isn't it?"

"I think you'd really better shut up, now." He was hunched, dangerous, animallike, towering over her.

"She's right," I said, my head beginning to clear. "You... you were surprised when Juliet showed me the Kindschwall letter."

He pointed at me but didn't turn away from Katy. I don't think it was even what Katy was saying; something about Bepi's manner broke everyone from their trances. Rodrigo took a shuffling step towards him, sensing this felt different from before.

Bepi didn't even have to do anything; the chain-arms in the ceiling wrapped around Rodrigo, holding him tightly. "Oh no you don't!" Monokuma's voice rang out.

Rocky shouted and grabbed at the chains, trying to pull them away from the paladin, but more chains swooped in and grabbed him; they both dangled, suspended, helpless. Jane pressed herself back against the computer, mumbling to herself.

But Bepi and Katy didn't seem to notice anything but one another. Katy still just looked sorrowful. "I get it," she said empathetically, and then she looked up at me. "He's just a coward."

Bepi let out a short, arrogant, barking laugh. "Coward? I'm not a fucking _Klingon_ , Katy, I don't care about shit like cowardice."

"Everything he's done has been about _not having to take a stand_ ," Katy said, very simply, ignoring him. "Instead of joining Ashley or fighting her, he just stays. He leaves it up to Juliet about whether to change the game or not. And now..." She smiled sadly at him. "Everything else he's saying doesn't matter. He just wants us to _make the decision for him_ , because he can't."

He laughed again, fakely. "See? More stories! You can't help it!"

"If you convinced us, you'd get to be right," I heard myself muttering. "You weren't the pathetic one for staying behind in this hell year after year. You were the smart one."

"I _am_ right!" he yelled.

"But why do you care? _"_ Katy asked, looking even a little serene.

He paused. "I don't."

"Isn't the important thing that Ashley's dead? You must have been close to her somehow, right? And she's dead now. She's gone forever. Isn't that the important thing? How can you even think about anything but that?"

He pointed the gun right at her face. "I really seriously think you should be quiet right now."

She was not quiet. "And Saya _loves_ you. You were real friends. And here she is, scared and tortured, and you can stop it. That's what matters. Not being right. Not who's pathetic and who's not."

He stared right at her. His breathing was the only way he moved, but it was so furious and tense, it looked like every part of him was in motion. "I," he said, "will show you who is pathetic."

" _Ptui_!"

Even in his rage, the sound of a person spitting was so surprising, it distracted him. We all turned our heads.

The Monokuma computer screen had saliva slowly oozing down it. Jane stood next to it, on shaky legs.

"You..." Monokuma said with absolute shock, "...you _spit_ on me!" And then there was a popping noise and he disappeared into roaring static.

No one moved for a moment.

* * *

 _Jane strutted towards the now open door, but she stopped when she saw me not following. "Hm?" She looked at me blankly for a moment, then nodded. "Oh. My saliva interferes with telecommunications electronics."_

 _"Of course it does," I said._

* * *

The chains holding Rocky and Rodrigo loosened and they both dropped to the ground. With a frantic roar, Rocky immediately ran towards Bepi.

But Bepi's reflexes were good. He swiftly turned, raised the shotgun, and fell in a heap on the ground.

I jumped in surprise. Rodrigo had somehow tackled Bepi from the side, and it was more shocking than even a deafening shotgun blast would have been. He had moved like a panther, even on his bad leg, faster than I could even see.

Crouching on top of Bepi, he made eye contact with Rocky. They shared a quick nod.

Jane ran over to where the gun had fallen and picked it up. We all just stayed in place for a moment. "Holy shit," Rocky said. "Did we beat him?"

"I..." I couldn't get my mind to answer his question. "I don't know. Is everyone okay?"

Rodrigo pinned Bepi to the ground, but Bepi wasn't even trying to struggle. "Yo, Roddy?"

Bepi opened his mouth but didn't make a sound for a moment. "...Friend Rocky..."

"No. Fuck all that shit. It's okay."

"But... but I can't be certain I am a good person."

"You are. Chill." Rocky looked around at all of us. "We all are."

Bepi giggled at that but didn't otherwise move. All of a sudden, his mockery just felt sad.

"Indeed," Rodrigo finally agreed, nodding. "What do we do now? We must hurry before the vile bear returns."

As if in response, the computer screen suddenly went black and then lit up again. Monokuma's giant face grinned at us. The machine-arms slowly began to come to life. "Hi, again!" his voice chirped. "It's me! I'm back!"

Bepi laughed. Not an evil laugh, just like someone watching Seinfeld. "Glad to see you," he said. "Be a dear and restrain everyone, would you?"

Monokuma tilted his head in confusion. "Uh... why would I help you? Are you mistaking me with someone else?"

Bepi went pale.

"Wait, you're not Monokuma?" Rocky asked.

"Well, I'm the same AI! But a different, um... manifestation, let's say?" He wagged his paw at Bepi chidingly. "You forgot to turn me off, asshole. In the VR program. That wasn't smart."

"Oh my god..." Katy breathed. "Are... are you..."

"Call me Romeo!" Monokuma announced, posing confidently. "I've been trying to say hello the whole time, but I couldn't break through until Jane pulled that stunt of hers! Thanks, Jane!"

Jane nodded dumbly. "Sure thing." She held out the shotgun gingerly. "Could someone take this, please? I don't wish to touch it any longer."

I surprised myself by walking over and allowing her to hand the gun to me. It was very heavy and very warm and weirdly off-balance, but Jane smiled at me gratefully. Then, suddenly, her eyes filled with apprehension.

"You didn't do it," I reassured her. "That's what matters."

She froze, then nodded. "I'm very sorry your dad hurt you," she said, and although it looked like it caused her physical pain to be kind, she got through it smoothly. I smiled.

"Want me to take over, Rodrigo?" Romeo asked, his little bear paws wiggling on the screen. The paladin hesitantly nodded and stood; robot chain-arms darted down and grabbed Bepi, holding him a foot off the floor. He didn't fight.

"Aaaaand here you go!" A click sounded from a nearby door. "That's the way out; just follow the exit signs!"

Just follow the exit signs. "It's over," I said plainly. I had never felt joy like that moment. Exit sign joy; it was bizarre. "It's over," I repeated. "We survived."

"It was Friend Katy," Rodrigo said. He limped over to her and bowed his head. "I will always be grateful."

"Ack!" Katy yelped, embarrassed. "No! You're the one who tackled him!"

"Only because Rocky distracted him," I pointed out.

"Hey!" Jane snapped. "I'm the one with the super-spit!"

Laughing, I nodded. "Yep. I'm the only one who didn't do anything."

"Whoa, hold up," Rocky said. "We still gotta choose, right?" He pointed over to the countdown. "And that's you."

"Uh." I blinked at him. "...Still?"

"Indeed," Rodrigo answered. "We have learned to trust in your wisdom."

"But..." I trailed off. I literally couldn't think of anything to say after that. Everyone was looking at me with genuine trust, even Jane. I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and nodded.

I walked up to the computer, standing in front of that big red button. Monokuma's face leered at me, the countdown still trickling on various small screens all around. If I pushed the button, Ashley's plan would be stopped; the world would continue on. If I didn't press the button, things would be different. A clean break.

"This doesn't change anything," Bepi mumbled. "I'm right."

"Ugh, just shut up," Jane sneered.

"But I'm _right_." He was still beaten and quiet, even as he insisted. "You can't be certain what the right thing to do is. It's impossible. You might be wrong. You might wreck everything."

I looked over at him. "I know," I said.

He looked so sorrowful... my sad, pathetic friend who refused to leave college, who just wanted to hide, and who I couldn't help. "So how can you choose?" he asked, voice plaintive.

"I just have to maybe be wrong," I answered. Then I looked at the computer and I made my choice. Afterwards, I walked back to the circle. I found myself walking up to Katy and hugging her tightly.

"What about him?" Romeo asked, jostling Bepi up and down a few times. "Want me to kill him? I'll totally kill him! There's literally five different executions stored in here for him."

"Fucker deserves it," Jane sneered. "Give him all five at the same time."

"Let's just let him go," Katy said. "I can't stand any more death."

I was watching Bepi. When Jane gave her suggestion, it was subtle, but I saw it on his face: fear. And when Katy gave her suggestion, even more fear, breaking through his smug mask like a hand reaching up out of a graveyard.

"Romeo?" I said.

"Yeah?"

"Where would his execution be?"

"Through here!" Romeo answered, one of the robot arms pointing at a nearby door. "But it'll take a few minutes to set up."

"Set it up." Romeo's response was just a sneering giggle, but I wasn't done. "After we leave, wait ten minutes and then let him go. Open the door to his execution and the door to the outside. Lock everything else."

I stared at him. There were tears in his one eye for the first time I'd ever seen. "Freedom or death. Let him choose. But he _has to_ choose."

He hung his head, trying to hide his face from us all. "I'm okay with this," Jane said, grinning. No one argued.

I almost, very suddenly, collapsed in exhaustion. Katy held me up. It suddenly hit me how wonderful she'd been to me this whole time.

I set the shotgun on the floor. In a clump, all together, we made our way to the exit. I felt Jane's gloved hand grasping mine and it felt good. Solid.

"Pick up your diplomas on the way out!" Romeo cheerfully announced. We loped out to the hallway.

I glanced back one time. Bepi hung, restrained, watching us go. I caught a glimpse of his face: completely, utterly helpless, before the door slid closed behind us. I have absolutely no idea what he did after we left.


	48. epilogue

Nicole had been right: my middle-class whiteness just could not handle this. Mrs. Archina wailed, then swore at us, then buried her face in her husband's neck, pounding on his chest with her fists. Mr. Archina screamed so loud, everything in the room shook.

We had agreed that Rodrigo was the best of all of us to break the news, but just being there supporting him was hard. We were dressed in our snazzy Men-In-Black outfits, which always gave me confidence, but this was just raw pain. It was too much.

Mrs. Archina wailed again that she didn't understand, so Rodrigo repeated the story we'd all agreed on: Nicole had been near campus, when she saw a burning building. She had thought a lot of people were in danger, and without even thinking twice, she ran inside to try to save everyone. As a result, she had died.

No one was actually in danger, but Nicole had no way of knowing that. It was tragic that she hadn't been able to find anyone to actually save, but that didn't mean she wasn't a hero.

Mr.s Archina cursed her daughter's impulsiveness, then wept in awe at her daughter's selflessness, then just collapsed in her husband's arms. "I did not know her for very long," Rodrigo said. "But I couldn't help but respect her passion, brilliance, and dedication. I know this is true for everyone else she met at NHU."

Mr. Archina nodded dumbly, tears streaming down his cheeks. "Thank you," he said, stiffly. He shook his head. "How are we going to tell her brothers and sisters? They all..." He paused, gathered himself for a moment, and then nodded again. "Nicole was their light. I don't know what we'll do."

Rodrigo and I glanced at each other, and I took a step forward, gathering myself to actually try to speak. "Um. I'm sorry, I can't imagine how you're feeling. But there's something we want to do to make part of it easier."

I took a piece of paper out of my pocket and unfolded it. "Everyone knew how much she loved her family. And before she died, she actually wrote a list of all the people who meant the most to her." I handed the list over to them and let them read it. As I paused, I tried not to be too distracted by all the photos of Nicole, the framed awards, the newspaper clippings.

"Nicole was our friend," I said. "But more than that, she was an Ultimate. We're all furious that she was stolen from the world before she could really flourish. And we're furious she was stolen from _you_. We're here to promise that all of the people on this list will be financially supported for the rest of their lives."

They started to sputter, but Rodrigo quickly spoke up. "We fully understand if you do not wish to accept this assistance. Any money you turn away will automatically be given to a trusted charity supporting young, colorful women in the fashion industry."

"Women of color!" I corrected quickly.

"Ah. Yes." He blushed. "My apologies."

"We understand this is overwhelming!" I said. "None of it needs to be addressed now. Our contact information is on the card we gave you earlier. We just wanted you to know, to hopefully ease even a tiny bit of this horrible news."

They just stared at us, completely gobsmacked. I couldn't blame them. "Um, there was one final thing, before we left you alone," I said. "There's one name on this list we didn't understand. See? The one that just says 'Mrs. Jones.' That wasn't enough for us to find her. Do you know who that is?"

Mrs. Archina sob-laughed. "Mrs. Jones! Oh." She sniffled, grief not completely covering up the warmth of the memories she was having. "Mrs. Jones lived on our block when we were at the old house. Nicole would go over there when we couldn't pick her up from school, and they'd sew and talk..." A heartbroken smile broke through the tears. "But she died. She's been dead for five years. Nicole cried and cried for days when she heard."

Rodrigo looked to me. We shared a nod, and he smiled kindly back to Mrs. Archina. "I see. Although we can't help her friend, I'm very grateful to learn more about Nicole. Thank you."

* * *

As Rodrigo and I stepped out onto the Detroit sidewalk, I had to take a second to just collect myself.

"Are you all right, Saya?" he asked.

"Yeah, yeah, " I assured him. "That was just the hardest one yet. I knew it would be, but... woof."

He nodded. "It's exhausting. But I'm glad it's the two of us doing it. If I was alone, I'd be utterly overwhelmed."

"Yeah. Same here, buddy." I smiled at him and we began heading down the street to where we'd parked the car. "Do you remember who's next?"

"Therion; on Wednesday. Our plane to San Juan won't leave until tomorrow, so we got a hotel in town."

"Good. It'll be nice to spread out." I took out my phone and glanced at it; I had four messages. Two were business and one was a reminder about the chess tournament I'd signed up for next week in Oslo. But the fourth...

"Ohhhh, the bomb dropped," I said, wincing.

"Hm?"

"My mom wants to meet Jane." I sighed. "I tried to explain we're not really dating-dating, just... like... sort of half kinda dating, but it looks like that's not cutting it." My phone buzzed, and I looked down at it. "Aaaaand she just sent me a photo of the bisexual pride flag she's apparently hung up in her dining room, so that's a thing, too."

He nodded. "Rocky and I have yet to meet one another's parents. I admit that I find the prospect quite intimidating. I support you!"

I rolled my eyes playfully. "At least she's stopped asking me why I'm not with Katy. I told her, 'because w'ere best friends,' and she was like, 'Yes, but have you seen what your best friend looks like?' I'm not sure if she's really awkwardly trying to support me, or if she has a crush on Katy herself, and jesus christ now that I said that out loud I might never orgasm again."

"Having parents is strange," Rodrigo mused. "Although..."

"Hey, X-Files!"

We paused in confusion at the sudden interruption. We looked over to see a middle-aged man in raggedy clothes loping over to us. "I beg your pardon?" Rodrigo said.

"Your clothes! You all dressed up like X-Files! I bet y'all work for the government, huh?" The man stopped a couple of feet away. He was grinning, but his face was weathered and marked from standing in the sun.

"No," Rodrigo corrected him. "We... work for a university, actually."

"Whoa, big-brains!" the man enthused. "Hey, big brains, listen, I don't mean to bother you or the young lady, and so I won't take up much of your time. But my name is Robert K. Selsen, and I am a veteran of this here United States Armed Forces, I fought in Iraq, Iran, and Afghanistan. And listen, I just need three dollars and forty-four cents for a bus to Oakland Avenue, because I prayed to Jesus Christ above and He gave me..."

I held up my hand, trying to interrupt his well-practiced speech. "Hey, Robert... hey. Sorry to cut you off. I don't think either of us carry any cash, but um... I think I have a Gatorade in the car. Do you want that?"

"Aw, that's great. Bless you!"

"No problem," I replied, blushing at his enthusiasm. "It's just at the other end of this block." He nodded and followed us as we headed towards our rental.

"Y'all really do look like the X-Files though," he remarked. "Little, pretty red-head, and big, handsome, brown-haired, white guy? You sure you ain't with some big conspiracy?" He laughed, rasping but genuine.

"No, just a university," I replied. Then, grinning: "We do fight aliens, though." He laughed.

When we got to the car, I unlocked it and reached in to get the bag from the convenience store. "Hm, it got kinda warm, but it should still be good," I said, handing it over.

"Jesus bless you, thank you very much," he said, and he opened up the bottle and took a big swig. He bowed his head, then turned and started walking back to his corner. But his boisterous laugh stayed with me.

"Hey, Mr. Selsen!" I called to him. He turned around, raising an eyebrow. "Do you think you can make it ten more years?"

He squinted in confusion. "What's that?"

"Just pray to Jesus to help you make it ten more years. That's all you need. Because after that... things will change. I promise."

He glanced around. I think he was getting worried this was some sort of set-up, so I clarified as much as I dared. "Our conspiracy."

He did not seem reassured or less confused, so I just waved awkwardly and hopped into the car. Rodrigo sat down next to me. We strapped on our seatbelts, and I pulled out into the street.


End file.
